Where Robots and
Virtual Agents Meet
A Survey of Social Interaction Research across
Milgram’s Reality-Virtuality Continuum
Thomas Holz · Mauro Dragone · G.M.P. O’Hare
Reported by :
Maria Asumpta Marasigan
2006-20865
ROBOT

A mechanical device that sometimes resembles a
human and is capable of performing a variety of
often complex human tasks on command or by
being programmed in advance

Robots can be similar in form to a human, but
industrial robots do not resemble people at all
ROBOT (cont..)
Huey, Dewey, and Louie
ASIMO
VIRTUAL AGENTS

autonomous, graphically embodied agents in a
virtual environment that are able to interact
intelligently with human users, other IVAs, and
their environment

virtual agents act in a dynamic, unpredictable,
interactive world
VIRTUAL AGENTS (cont..)
ADELE
STEVE
SOCIAL INTERACTION with
Robotic and Virtual Agents

Robots must exhibit social interaction skills

Humanlike virtual characters (virtual humans) are being
used with success as virtual representatives of human
users in virtual conference applications

Human treats virtual characters as social partners
DIFFERENCE between
Physical and Virtual Agents
ROBOTS
VIRTUAL AGENTS
• Physical presence and their
ability to interact to the physical
world and the human
• Constrained in their interaction
capabilities with the physical
world
• Physical nature evokes a higher
sense of presence in the user
making them more trustworthy
and engaging
• Require the user to initiate the
action and approach the agent
• visible only from a limited angle
and cannot effectively point (or
gaze) in the 3D physical
surrounding
DIFFERENCE between
Physical and Virtual Agents
(cont..)
ROBOTS
VIRTUAL AGENTS
• Free to move within physical
environment
• Capable of actions that are simply
impossible in the real world, such as
mutating their form
• Expressional capabilities
remain restricted
still
• Exhibit a high degree
of anthropomorphism
Mori’s Uncanny Valley
AGENTS embodied in
UBIQUITOUS ENVIRONMENT

Ubiquitous Robotic Companion - guards its
owner’s home, cleans their rooms and reads to
their kids
AGENTS embodied in
UBIQUITOUS ENVIRONMENT
(cont..)
NEC’s robot PaPeRo (Partner-Type Personal
Robot) – communicate not only with other
PaPeRos, but also with PCs, PDAs, and with
other electrical appliances in the home
- can check the user’s e-mail or
tune the TV onto the user’s
favorite channel

AGENTS embodied in
UBIQUITOUS ENVIRONMENT
(cont..)

ICat - a research
prototype of an
emotionally intelligent
robot that provides an
easy to use and enjoyable
interaction style for
ubiquitous environments
AGENTS in MIXED REALITY
ENVIRONMENTS

U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi
Virtual Humanoid –
maps a humanoid
avatar onto a robot’s
anatomically correct,
green-cloth surface
AGENTS in MIXED REALITY
ENVIRONMENTS (cont..)
MiRA (Mixed Reality Agents) system is the first
example to combine a MR character with a physical
robot platform to provide an expressive social
interface.