Designing relational agents as long term social companions for older adults

Authors:
Laura Pfeifer Vardoulakis;Lazlo Ring;Barbara Barry;Candace L. Sidner;Timothy Bickmore
Affiliations:
College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA;College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA;College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA;Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA;College of Computer and Information Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Venue:
IVA'12 Proceedings of the 12th international conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents
Year:
2012

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Abstract

Older adults with strong social connections are at a reduced risk for health problems and mortality. We describe two field studies to inform the development of a virtual agent designed to provide long-term, continuous social support to isolated older adults. Findings include the topics that older adults would like to discuss with a companion agent, in addition to overall reactions to interacting with a remote-controlled companion agent installed in their home for a week. Results indicate a generally positive attitude towards companion agents and a rich research agenda for virtual companion agents.