Introduction
Developing principles for the design of embodied conversational interface agents
The motivation behind this study is to explore the design applications and implications when technology is given a human face and body. Conversational interfaces, in which users communicate with technology through text or speech exchanges, have evolved into a broad trend through the implementation of programs such as software wizards with characters guiding the user, chatbots that are now in use across hundreds of industries’ web applications, and personal assistant products such as smart speakers in millions of homes. The first chapter, “Speak, Machine,” describes how this technological shift has taken place, and presents a condensed history of interface design and the evolving relationship between user and interface.
Different relationships and profound psychological effects emerge when technology is given a human face, or features which can be construed as human through various methods of anthropomorphization in design. Product and interface designers can create embodied agents, characters that are visible on the screens, icons, or traversing the space between the user and software, to facilitate and enhance these relationships. The question is not whether or not these embodied conversational interface agents exist, but how they can and should be presented, which principles of design make them easier to use, friendlier, and more accessible. The second, “Embodied Conversational Interface Agents,” defines the scope of the research and contextualizes the technological trends that are evident in research and commercial products featuring embodied conversational agents, as well as some of the ethical implications for anthropomorphizing technology.
To analyze and synthesize the principles of embodied conversational agent design that are discovered through the following research, the design research has been broken down into several phases: (I) Types of embodiment, (II) Anthropomorphism and emotional design, (III) Realism, and (IV) Situation within interfaces and society. Performing literature review on previous studies in human-computer interaction and the design of social robots will help to develop guidelines for each of these elements of the framework, supported by case studies and experimental designs throughout each phase.
The case studies’ analysis first consists of coding the agents’ designs through these four categories and researching how they were created, how the characters and products they were implemented for were received and used, and how these individual agents speak to broader trends in embodied conversational agent design. The experimental designs, presented at the end of each case study, revolve around iterations on this generic agent character, applying some of the design principles and effects discovered through the case study:
The discussions and conclusions at the end of each design phase, as well as the experimental designs based on each case study, form the basis for the final chapter, a framework for designing embodied conversational interface agents.