ABSTRACT
Interface agents off er new interaction styles, since they are not based on direct manipulation but instead on the indirect control of a computer system. According to Kozierok and Maes (1993), an interface agent is a “semi-intelligent, semiautonomous system which assists a user in dealing with one or more computer applications” (p. 81). In this guise, an interface agent can be seen as the user’s contact person responsible for interacting with the underlying computer system. Interface agents are o en represented as embodied entities that make use of gestures, facial expressions, and speech to interact with the user. Such agents are also called embodied conversational agents (ECA) (Cassell et al., 2000).
