Towards empathic virtual and robotic tutors

Abstract

Building on existing work on artificial tutors with human-like capabilities, we describe the EMOTE project approach to harnessing benefits of an artificial embodied tutor in a shared physical space. Embodied in robotic platforms or through virtual agents, EMOTE aims to capture some of the empathic and human elements characterising a traditional teacher. As such, empathy and engagement, abilities key to influencing student learning, are at the core of the EMOTE approach. We present non-verbal and adaptive dialogue challenges for such embodied tutors as a foundation for researchers investigating the potential for empathic tutors that will be accepted by students and teachers. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.