Conversational H.C. Andersen First Prototype Description

Abstract

AbstractThis paper describes the running first prototype (PT1) of the NICE Hans Christian Andersen system. NICE stands for Natural Interactive Communication for Edutainment (http://www.niceproject.com/). In this EU project (2002-2005), we aim to demonstrate domain-oriented conversation, including 2D gesture input, with life-like animated fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen (HCA). By contrast with task-oriented spoken dialogue [1], domain-oriented conversation has no task constraints. The user can address, in any order, any topic within HCA’s knowledge domains, using spontaneous speech and mixed-initiative dialogue. In PT1, the domains are: HCA’s works, his life, his physical presence in his study, the user, and HCA’s role as “gate-keeper” for access to the fairytale world which is not described here. In addition, HCA has a ‘meta’ domain to be able to handle meta-communication during conversation. HCA reacts emotionally to the user’s input, e.g. by getting angry or sad due to what the user says, or happy if the user likes to talk about his fairytales. The HCA system is not an information system. It attains its educational goal by providing correct factual information, both visually and orally, but an equally important goal is to entertain through human-like conversation, to make the target users of 10-18 years old kids and teenagers pleased by having met someone of, and from, a different age who is much more like themselves than expected.