Michael Bonfert - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Michael Bonfert

Frontiers in virtual reality, Jan 14, 2022

It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since ... more It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since current consumer VR controllers and software-based approaches such as pseudohaptics cannot render appropriate haptic stimuli. To overcome these limitations, we developed a haptic VR controller named Triggermuscle that adjusts its trigger resistance according to the weight of a virtual object. Therefore, users need to adapt their index finger force to grab objects of different virtual weights. Dynamic and continuous adjustment is enabled by a spring mechanism inside the casing of an HTC Vive controller. In two user studies, we explored the effect on weight perception and found large differences between participants for sensing change in trigger resistance and thus for discriminating virtual weights. The variations were easily distinguished and associated with weight by some participants while others did not notice them at all. We discuss possible limitations, confounding factors, how to overcome them in future research and the pros and cons of this novel technology.

Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visua... more Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visual modality is added in this device variant, the virtual agent is still only represented through auditory output and remains invisible in most current products. We present an empirical study on the interaction of users with a smart display on which the agent is embodied with a humanoid representation. Three different conditions are compared in a between-group experiment: no agent embodiment, a digitally rendered character, and a photorealistic representation performed by a human actress. Our quantitative data do not indicate that agent visualization on a smart display affects the user experience significantly. On the other hand, our qualitative findings revealed differentiated perspectives by the users. We discuss potentials and challenges of embodying agents on smart displays, reflect on their continuous on-screen presence, present user considerations on their appearance, and how the visualization influenced the politeness of the users.

Digital home assistants have an increasing influence on our everyday lives. The media now reports... more Digital home assistants have an increasing influence on our everyday lives. The media now reports how children adapt the consequential, imperious language style when talking to real people. As a response to this behavior, we considered a digital assistant rebuking impolite language. We then investigated how adult users react when being rebuked by the AI. In a between-group study (N = 20), the participants were being rejected by our fictional speech assistant "Eliza" when they made impolite requests. As a result, we observed more polite behavior. Most test subjects accepted the AI's demand and said "please" significantly more often. However, many participants retrospectively denied Eliza the entitlement to politeness and criticized her attitude or refusal of service.

The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usual... more The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usually female voice that responds to the user’s inquiry. We designed a VA system appearing as a group of agents, each with a different voice and a specialized task domain. We conducted a quantitative user study comparing our multi-agent approach with a conventional single-agent assistant in a smart home scenario as virtual reality (VR) simulation. The results show significantly higher user experience ratings for the multi-agent concept. Based on our findings, we discuss the potentials and challenges of designing multi-party VA systems.

2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), Mar 1, 2022

When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We inves... more When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We investigated how the visibility of the foot influences penalty shooting in soccer. In a between-group experiment, we asked 28 players to hit eight targets with a virtual ball. We measured the performance, task load, presence, ball control, and body ownership of inexperienced to advanced soccer players. In one condition, the players saw a visual representation of their tracked foot which improved the accuracy of the shots significantly. Players with invisible foot needed 58% more attempts. Further, with foot visibility the self-reported body ownership was higher.

Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a most... more Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a mostly reactive role, responding to user's questions or requests. With rapid technological advances, they are becoming more capable of initiating conversations by themselves. However, before developing such proactive features, it is important to understand how people perceive different types of agent-initiated interactions. We conducted an online survey in which participants (= 47) rated 8 scenarios around proactive smart speakers on different aspects. Despite some controversy around proactive systems,

Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a fee... more Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a feeling of companionship among the players. In single-player games, this aspect is often missing. Advancements in speech recognition now open new potentials for voice-activated single-player experiences. In this work, we integrated voice interaction to a single-player virtual reality (VR) game. To create a sense of team spirit, we enabled players to talk to a multiplicity of agents using natural language. We hypothesize that conversing with only one agent cannot produce the same level of camaraderie. We conducted a preliminary qualitative user study (N=10) to explore how players experience talking with the in-game characters in the single-agent and the multi-agent condition. Early results suggest that our participants prefer interacting with the group of interlocutors. They perceived the multi-agent condition as more entertaining and liked the feeling of being part of a team.

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Apr 29, 2022

Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback... more Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback is for a particular use case specific for one particular variation of a use case specific for a group of use cases that the scenario belongs to completely generic and not specific for almost any use case Versatility specific generic Figure 1: Overview of the two dimensions of the Haptic Fidelity Framework and classifcation of three examples in the dimensions of the framework for providing haptic feedback for a virtual mug: a standard VR controller with vibration, a forcefeedback glove, and a real mug as passive haptic prop.

Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback... more Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback is for a particular use case specific for one particular variation of a use case specific for a group of use cases that the scenario belongs to completely generic and not specific for almost any use case Versatility specific generic Figure 1: Overview of the two dimensions of the Haptic Fidelity Framework and classifcation of three examples in the dimensions of the framework for providing haptic feedback for a virtual mug: a standard VR controller with vibration, a forcefeedback glove, and a real mug as passive haptic prop.

Frontiers in Virtual Reality

It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since ... more It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since current consumer VR controllers and software-based approaches such as pseudo-haptics cannot render appropriate haptic stimuli. To overcome these limitations, we developed a haptic VR controller named Triggermuscle that adjusts its trigger resistance according to the weight of a virtual object. Therefore, users need to adapt their index finger force to grab objects of different virtual weights. Dynamic and continuous adjustment is enabled by a spring mechanism inside the casing of an HTC Vive controller. In two user studies, we explored the effect on weight perception and found large differences between participants for sensing change in trigger resistance and thus for discriminating virtual weights. The variations were easily distinguished and associated with weight by some participants while others did not notice them at all. We discuss possible limitations, confounding factors, how to ...

Frontiers in Virtual Reality

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office... more During the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office. To understand the opportunities and challenges of meeting in virtual reality (VR) compared to videoconferences, we conducted the weekly team meetings of our human-computer interaction research lab on five off-the-shelf online meeting platforms over 4 months. After each of the 12 meetings, we asked the participants (N = 32) to share their experiences, resulting in 200 completed online questionnaires. We evaluated the ratings of the overall meeting experience and conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the quantitative data to compare VR meetings and video calls in terms of meeting involvement and co-presence. In addition, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed genuine insights covering five themes: spatial aspects, meeting atmosphere, expression of emotions, meeting productivity, and user needs. We reflect on our findings gained under authentic working conditions, deri...

Proceedings of the 23rd ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology

Many virtual and mixed reality games focus on single player experiences. In this paper, we descri... more Many virtual and mixed reality games focus on single player experiences. In this paper, we describe the concept and prototype implementation of a mixed reality multiplayer game that can be played with a smartphone and an HMD in outdoor environments. Players can team up to fight against attacking alien drones. The relative positions between the players are tracked using GPS, and the rear camera of the smartphone is used to augment the environment and teammates with virtual objects. The combination of multiplayer, mixed reality, the use of geographical location and outdoor action together with affordable, mobile equipment enables a novel strategic and social game experience.

arXiv (Cornell University), Oct 12, 2022

During the Covid-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office... more During the Covid-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office. To understand the opportunities and challenges of meeting in virtual reality (VR) compared to videoconferences, we conducted the weekly team meetings of our human-computer interaction research lab on five off-the-shelf online meeting platforms over four months. After each of the 12 meetings, we asked the participants (N = 32) to share their experiences, resulting in 200 completed online questionnaires. We evaluated the ratings of the overall meeting experience and conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the quantitative data to compare VR meetings and video calls in terms of meeting involvement and co-presence. In addition, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed genuine insights covering five themes: spatial aspects, meeting atmosphere, expression of emotions, meeting productivity, and user needs. We reflect on our findings gained under authentic working conditions, derive lessons learned for running successful team meetings in VR supporting different kinds of meeting formats, and discuss the team's long-term platform choice.

CUI 2021 - 3rd Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a most... more Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a mostly reactive role, responding to user's questions or requests. With rapid technological advances, they are becoming more capable of initiating conversations by themselves. However, before developing such proactive features, it is important to understand how people perceive different types of agent-initiated interactions. We conducted an online survey in which participants (= 47) rated 8 scenarios around proactive smart speakers on different aspects. Despite some controversy around proactive systems,

2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)

When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We inves... more When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We investigated how the visibility of the foot influences penalty shooting in soccer. In a between-group experiment, we asked 28 players to hit eight targets with a virtual ball. We measured the performance, task load, presence, ball control, and body ownership of inexperienced to advanced soccer players. In one condition, the players saw a visual representation of their tracked foot which improved the accuracy of the shots significantly. Players with invisible foot needed 58% more attempts. Further, with foot visibility the self-reported body ownership was higher.

20th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, 2021

The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usual... more The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usually female voice that responds to the user’s inquiry. We designed a VA system appearing as a group of agents, each with a different voice and a specialized task domain. We conducted a quantitative user study comparing our multi-agent approach with a conventional single-agent assistant in a smart home scenario as virtual reality (VR) simulation. The results show significantly higher user experience ratings for the multi-agent concept. Based on our findings, we discuss the potentials and challenges of designing multi-party VA systems.

Extended Abstracts of the 2020 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2020

Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a fee... more Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a feeling of companionship among the players. In single-player games, this aspect is often missing. Advancements in speech recognition now open new potentials for voice-activated single-player experiences. In this work, we integrated voice interaction to a single-player virtual reality (VR) game. To create a sense of team spirit, we enabled players to talk to a multiplicity of agents using natural language. We hypothesize that conversing with only one agent cannot produce the same level of camaraderie. We conducted a preliminary qualitative user study (N=10) to explore how players experience talking with the in-game characters in the single-agent and the multi-agent condition. Early results suggest that our participants prefer interacting with the group of interlocutors. They perceived the multi-agent condition as more entertaining and liked the feeling of being part of a team.

CUI 2021 - 3rd Conference on Conversational User Interfaces, 2021

Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visua... more Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visual modality is added in this device variant, the virtual agent is still only represented through auditory output and remains invisible in most current products. We present an empirical study on the interaction of users with a smart display on which the agent is embodied with a humanoid representation. Three different conditions are compared in a between-group experiment: no agent embodiment, a digitally rendered character, and a photorealistic representation performed by a human actress. Our quantitative data do not indicate that agent visualization on a smart display affects the user experience significantly. On the other hand, our qualitative findings revealed differentiated perspectives by the users. We discuss potentials and challenges of embodying agents on smart displays, reflect on their continuous on-screen presence, present user considerations on their appearance, and how the visualization influenced the politeness of the users.

Frontiers in virtual reality, Jan 14, 2022

It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since ... more It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since current consumer VR controllers and software-based approaches such as pseudohaptics cannot render appropriate haptic stimuli. To overcome these limitations, we developed a haptic VR controller named Triggermuscle that adjusts its trigger resistance according to the weight of a virtual object. Therefore, users need to adapt their index finger force to grab objects of different virtual weights. Dynamic and continuous adjustment is enabled by a spring mechanism inside the casing of an HTC Vive controller. In two user studies, we explored the effect on weight perception and found large differences between participants for sensing change in trigger resistance and thus for discriminating virtual weights. The variations were easily distinguished and associated with weight by some participants while others did not notice them at all. We discuss possible limitations, confounding factors, how to overcome them in future research and the pros and cons of this novel technology.

Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visua... more Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visual modality is added in this device variant, the virtual agent is still only represented through auditory output and remains invisible in most current products. We present an empirical study on the interaction of users with a smart display on which the agent is embodied with a humanoid representation. Three different conditions are compared in a between-group experiment: no agent embodiment, a digitally rendered character, and a photorealistic representation performed by a human actress. Our quantitative data do not indicate that agent visualization on a smart display affects the user experience significantly. On the other hand, our qualitative findings revealed differentiated perspectives by the users. We discuss potentials and challenges of embodying agents on smart displays, reflect on their continuous on-screen presence, present user considerations on their appearance, and how the visualization influenced the politeness of the users.

Digital home assistants have an increasing influence on our everyday lives. The media now reports... more Digital home assistants have an increasing influence on our everyday lives. The media now reports how children adapt the consequential, imperious language style when talking to real people. As a response to this behavior, we considered a digital assistant rebuking impolite language. We then investigated how adult users react when being rebuked by the AI. In a between-group study (N = 20), the participants were being rejected by our fictional speech assistant "Eliza" when they made impolite requests. As a result, we observed more polite behavior. Most test subjects accepted the AI's demand and said "please" significantly more often. However, many participants retrospectively denied Eliza the entitlement to politeness and criticized her attitude or refusal of service.

The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usual... more The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usually female voice that responds to the user’s inquiry. We designed a VA system appearing as a group of agents, each with a different voice and a specialized task domain. We conducted a quantitative user study comparing our multi-agent approach with a conventional single-agent assistant in a smart home scenario as virtual reality (VR) simulation. The results show significantly higher user experience ratings for the multi-agent concept. Based on our findings, we discuss the potentials and challenges of designing multi-party VA systems.

2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), Mar 1, 2022

When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We inves... more When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We investigated how the visibility of the foot influences penalty shooting in soccer. In a between-group experiment, we asked 28 players to hit eight targets with a virtual ball. We measured the performance, task load, presence, ball control, and body ownership of inexperienced to advanced soccer players. In one condition, the players saw a visual representation of their tracked foot which improved the accuracy of the shots significantly. Players with invisible foot needed 58% more attempts. Further, with foot visibility the self-reported body ownership was higher.

Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a most... more Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a mostly reactive role, responding to user's questions or requests. With rapid technological advances, they are becoming more capable of initiating conversations by themselves. However, before developing such proactive features, it is important to understand how people perceive different types of agent-initiated interactions. We conducted an online survey in which participants (= 47) rated 8 scenarios around proactive smart speakers on different aspects. Despite some controversy around proactive systems,

Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a fee... more Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a feeling of companionship among the players. In single-player games, this aspect is often missing. Advancements in speech recognition now open new potentials for voice-activated single-player experiences. In this work, we integrated voice interaction to a single-player virtual reality (VR) game. To create a sense of team spirit, we enabled players to talk to a multiplicity of agents using natural language. We hypothesize that conversing with only one agent cannot produce the same level of camaraderie. We conducted a preliminary qualitative user study (N=10) to explore how players experience talking with the in-game characters in the single-agent and the multi-agent condition. Early results suggest that our participants prefer interacting with the group of interlocutors. They perceived the multi-agent condition as more entertaining and liked the feeling of being part of a team.

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Apr 29, 2022

Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback... more Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback is for a particular use case specific for one particular variation of a use case specific for a group of use cases that the scenario belongs to completely generic and not specific for almost any use case Versatility specific generic Figure 1: Overview of the two dimensions of the Haptic Fidelity Framework and classifcation of three examples in the dimensions of the framework for providing haptic feedback for a virtual mug: a standard VR controller with vibration, a forcefeedback glove, and a real mug as passive haptic prop.

Proceedings of the 4th Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback... more Assesses the realism of haptic feedback with 14 factors Assesses how specific the haptic feedback is for a particular use case specific for one particular variation of a use case specific for a group of use cases that the scenario belongs to completely generic and not specific for almost any use case Versatility specific generic Figure 1: Overview of the two dimensions of the Haptic Fidelity Framework and classifcation of three examples in the dimensions of the framework for providing haptic feedback for a virtual mug: a standard VR controller with vibration, a forcefeedback glove, and a real mug as passive haptic prop.

Frontiers in Virtual Reality

It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since ... more It is challenging to provide users with a haptic weight sensation of virtual objects in VR since current consumer VR controllers and software-based approaches such as pseudo-haptics cannot render appropriate haptic stimuli. To overcome these limitations, we developed a haptic VR controller named Triggermuscle that adjusts its trigger resistance according to the weight of a virtual object. Therefore, users need to adapt their index finger force to grab objects of different virtual weights. Dynamic and continuous adjustment is enabled by a spring mechanism inside the casing of an HTC Vive controller. In two user studies, we explored the effect on weight perception and found large differences between participants for sensing change in trigger resistance and thus for discriminating virtual weights. The variations were easily distinguished and associated with weight by some participants while others did not notice them at all. We discuss possible limitations, confounding factors, how to ...

Frontiers in Virtual Reality

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office... more During the COVID-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office. To understand the opportunities and challenges of meeting in virtual reality (VR) compared to videoconferences, we conducted the weekly team meetings of our human-computer interaction research lab on five off-the-shelf online meeting platforms over 4 months. After each of the 12 meetings, we asked the participants (N = 32) to share their experiences, resulting in 200 completed online questionnaires. We evaluated the ratings of the overall meeting experience and conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the quantitative data to compare VR meetings and video calls in terms of meeting involvement and co-presence. In addition, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed genuine insights covering five themes: spatial aspects, meeting atmosphere, expression of emotions, meeting productivity, and user needs. We reflect on our findings gained under authentic working conditions, deri...

Proceedings of the 23rd ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology

Many virtual and mixed reality games focus on single player experiences. In this paper, we descri... more Many virtual and mixed reality games focus on single player experiences. In this paper, we describe the concept and prototype implementation of a mixed reality multiplayer game that can be played with a smartphone and an HMD in outdoor environments. Players can team up to fight against attacking alien drones. The relative positions between the players are tracked using GPS, and the rear camera of the smartphone is used to augment the environment and teammates with virtual objects. The combination of multiplayer, mixed reality, the use of geographical location and outdoor action together with affordable, mobile equipment enables a novel strategic and social game experience.

arXiv (Cornell University), Oct 12, 2022

During the Covid-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office... more During the Covid-19 pandemic, online meetings became common for daily teamwork in the home office. To understand the opportunities and challenges of meeting in virtual reality (VR) compared to videoconferences, we conducted the weekly team meetings of our human-computer interaction research lab on five off-the-shelf online meeting platforms over four months. After each of the 12 meetings, we asked the participants (N = 32) to share their experiences, resulting in 200 completed online questionnaires. We evaluated the ratings of the overall meeting experience and conducted an exploratory factor analysis of the quantitative data to compare VR meetings and video calls in terms of meeting involvement and co-presence. In addition, a thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed genuine insights covering five themes: spatial aspects, meeting atmosphere, expression of emotions, meeting productivity, and user needs. We reflect on our findings gained under authentic working conditions, derive lessons learned for running successful team meetings in VR supporting different kinds of meeting formats, and discuss the team's long-term platform choice.

CUI 2021 - 3rd Conference on Conversational User Interfaces

Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a most... more Although smart speakers support increasingly complex multi-turn dialogues, they still play a mostly reactive role, responding to user's questions or requests. With rapid technological advances, they are becoming more capable of initiating conversations by themselves. However, before developing such proactive features, it is important to understand how people perceive different types of agent-initiated interactions. We conducted an online survey in which participants (= 47) rated 8 scenarios around proactive smart speakers on different aspects. Despite some controversy around proactive systems,

2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)

When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We inves... more When playing sports in virtual reality foot interaction is crucial for many disciplines. We investigated how the visibility of the foot influences penalty shooting in soccer. In a between-group experiment, we asked 28 players to hit eight targets with a virtual ball. We measured the performance, task load, presence, ball control, and body ownership of inexperienced to advanced soccer players. In one condition, the players saw a visual representation of their tracked foot which improved the accuracy of the shots significantly. Players with invisible foot needed 58% more attempts. Further, with foot visibility the self-reported body ownership was higher.

20th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, 2021

The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usual... more The use of voice assistants (VAs) is spreading widely. Most common VAs consist of a single, usually female voice that responds to the user’s inquiry. We designed a VA system appearing as a group of agents, each with a different voice and a specialized task domain. We conducted a quantitative user study comparing our multi-agent approach with a conventional single-agent assistant in a smart home scenario as virtual reality (VR) simulation. The results show significantly higher user experience ratings for the multi-agent concept. Based on our findings, we discuss the potentials and challenges of designing multi-party VA systems.

Extended Abstracts of the 2020 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2020

Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a fee... more Verbal communication is a central component in collaborative multiplayer gaming and creates a feeling of companionship among the players. In single-player games, this aspect is often missing. Advancements in speech recognition now open new potentials for voice-activated single-player experiences. In this work, we integrated voice interaction to a single-player virtual reality (VR) game. To create a sense of team spirit, we enabled players to talk to a multiplicity of agents using natural language. We hypothesize that conversing with only one agent cannot produce the same level of camaraderie. We conducted a preliminary qualitative user study (N=10) to explore how players experience talking with the in-game characters in the single-agent and the multi-agent condition. Early results suggest that our participants prefer interacting with the group of interlocutors. They perceived the multi-agent condition as more entertaining and liked the feeling of being part of a team.

CUI 2021 - 3rd Conference on Conversational User Interfaces, 2021

Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visua... more Smart displays augment the concept of a smart home speaker with a touchscreen. Although the visual modality is added in this device variant, the virtual agent is still only represented through auditory output and remains invisible in most current products. We present an empirical study on the interaction of users with a smart display on which the agent is embodied with a humanoid representation. Three different conditions are compared in a between-group experiment: no agent embodiment, a digitally rendered character, and a photorealistic representation performed by a human actress. Our quantitative data do not indicate that agent visualization on a smart display affects the user experience significantly. On the other hand, our qualitative findings revealed differentiated perspectives by the users. We discuss potentials and challenges of embodying agents on smart displays, reflect on their continuous on-screen presence, present user considerations on their appearance, and how the visualization influenced the politeness of the users.