1. The University of Edinburgh
Lay Summary of ThesisLay Summary of Thesis
The lay summary is intended to facilitate knowledge transfer and enhance accessibility, therefore the language usedThe lay summary is intended to facilitate knowledge transfer and enhance accessibility, therefore the language used
should be non-technical and suitable for a general audience. This should be a brief summary.should be non-technical and suitable for a general audience. This should be a brief summary.
Name of
Candidate:
Carl Benjamin Simmons
Address :
11/4 Cables Wynd
Edinburgh
Postal
Code:
EH6 6DU
Degree: Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Title of
Thesis:
Usability Design of Embodied Conversational Agents on Handheld
Devices
No. of words in the main text of
Thesis:
58,311
Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) are essentially animated ‘virtual people’ which are able to
speak to people and understand their responses. By programming a flowchart of reactions to different things
someone might say, it is possible to create a service that simulates the experience of having a conversation
with a human being, except the person is actually speaking to a computer. ECAs have previously been
shown to be effective as teaching aids; this research looked at using ECAs in a more commercial context in
order to provide financial services information to users.
Handheld devices like smartphones and tablets are growing in popularity, and so it is important for
the development of ECA services to see how using an ECA on a handheld device is different from using one
on a traditional PC setup. This research looked at using a smartphone, tablet and PC to deliver an ECA
service to people through a series of experiments that compared different ways of displaying the ECA
alongside some written information about the topics being discussed.
It was found from the research that people’s opinions about an ECA service are not affected by the
device being used at the time, but they are affected by the way in which the ECA is displayed, and how the
ECA speaks to them. As handheld devices get smaller, it is better to emphasise the ECA’s face since people
like to see the ECA when text becomes hard to read. People also find it helpful if the ECA asks them
questions about their own behaviours or preferences, since it makes the new information being discussed
more relatable and easier to understand.
Use this side only
Regulation 5.8 (c) of the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study,Regulation 5.8 (c) of the Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study, General Postgraduate Degree Programme
Regulations refers. These regulations are available via:refers. These regulations are available via: http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/http://www.drps.ed.ac.uk/..