The focus of this project is to build a prototype tutor/quiz agent with a knowledge base of human nutrition information. The agent will be able to teach lessons on good and bad fats, the dangers of high sugar meals, etc. It will also be able to quiz users interactively and measure their learning.
The agent will initially be launched on Android phones, allowing users to carry the agent with them and have access to it in situations where they need to make smart food choices. The study will focus on whether carrying the portable device is more or less effective than using a personal computer.
In addition, the agent will be able to manifest personalities through changes in both movement and linguistic variation. The goal is to determine whether personalized agents that match the users particular stylistic preferences are more effective at engaging and motivating the user to make smart nutrition choices.
Michael Neff gave a talk at CITRIS recently on “Animating People You Know: Building Character Systems with Personality”. View the talk on CITRIS’s YouTube Channel.
