Abstract
The use of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) in the domain
of lifestyle coaching has been the subject of many studies in the last
decades. With ageing populations in many countries, the pressure
on healthcare systems is increasing. ECAs can be a potential tool
to help combat this pressure through the promotion of a healthier
lifestyle among older adults, as well as through coaching and counselling
of older adults on how to manage their health. Designing
more lifelike and engaging ECAs is of key importance to further
this goal, as this could help encourage self-disclosure by the users
towards the ECAs, could make the ECAs more persuasive, and
could increase engagement and enjoyment of the interactions by
the users, among other things. The Council of Coaches project aims
to provide users with virtual coaching done by several lifestyle
coaching agents with different domains of expertise as well as
varying backstories, personalities, mannerisms, motivations and
looks, among other things. To work towards this goal, work has
been done on character and personality design for an initial set of
lifestyle coaching agents and defined initial interaction scenarios.
These were inspired by literature on coaching and ECAs, videos of
interactions between healthcare professionals and patient actors,
conversations with healthcare professionals, and brainstorming
sessions. This paper presents the work done within the project thus
far and closes out by presenting our plans to address the question:
What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of a multiple
agent approach as compared to a single agent approach to coaching
interactions with older adults?
of lifestyle coaching has been the subject of many studies in the last
decades. With ageing populations in many countries, the pressure
on healthcare systems is increasing. ECAs can be a potential tool
to help combat this pressure through the promotion of a healthier
lifestyle among older adults, as well as through coaching and counselling
of older adults on how to manage their health. Designing
more lifelike and engaging ECAs is of key importance to further
this goal, as this could help encourage self-disclosure by the users
towards the ECAs, could make the ECAs more persuasive, and
could increase engagement and enjoyment of the interactions by
the users, among other things. The Council of Coaches project aims
to provide users with virtual coaching done by several lifestyle
coaching agents with different domains of expertise as well as
varying backstories, personalities, mannerisms, motivations and
looks, among other things. To work towards this goal, work has
been done on character and personality design for an initial set of
lifestyle coaching agents and defined initial interaction scenarios.
These were inspired by literature on coaching and ECAs, videos of
interactions between healthcare professionals and patient actors,
conversations with healthcare professionals, and brainstorming
sessions. This paper presents the work done within the project thus
far and closes out by presenting our plans to address the question:
What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of a multiple
agent approach as compared to a single agent approach to coaching
interactions with older adults?
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 25 Mar 2019 |
| Event | 2018 AAMAS Workshop on Intelligent Conversation Agents in Home and Geriatric Care Applications, ICAHGCA 2018 - Stockholmsmässan, Stockholm, Sweden Duration: 15 Jul 2018 → 15 Jul 2018 |
Conference
| Conference | 2018 AAMAS Workshop on Intelligent Conversation Agents in Home and Geriatric Care Applications, ICAHGCA 2018 |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | ICAHGCA 2018 |
| Country | Sweden |
| City | Stockholm |
| Period | 15/07/18 → 15/07/18 |
| Other | Co-located with the Federated AI Meeting (FAIM 2018) |
Keywords
- Characterisation
- LIfestyle coaching agents
- Multiparty interaction
- Coaching
- Embodied conversational agent and personality design
- Scenario design
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Cite this
Huizing, G. H., Klaassen, R., & Heylen, D. K. J. (2019). Designing and Developing Lifelike, Engaging Lifestyle Coaching Agents and Scenarios for Multiparty Coaching Interaction. Paper presented at 2018 AAMAS Workshop on Intelligent Conversation Agents in Home and Geriatric Care Applications, ICAHGCA 2018, Stockholm, Sweden.