Interpersonal Simulation

Kyle Johnsen

PhD Candidate
Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering
University of Florida

Abstract

Novel gaming systems (e.g. the Nintendo Wii and Dual Screen) have shown that future success in the gaming industry will require advancements in more than just realistic graphics and animation. It will require research into human computer interaction and user interface design. This paradigm shift also applies to serious games, those which have real-world value outside of entertainment. This talk focuses on the design and evaluation of a serious game, the InterPersonal Simulator (IPS). The innovation of the IPS is its interface, which affords natural user interaction with life-size virtual humans, who have the appearance, behavior, and interaction capability of real humans. The design and features of the IPS will be presented, along with experiments conducted in the medical domain to assess the validity of interpersonal simulation for patient interview skills training. Also, future directions in interpersonal simulation will be discussed, which is shaping up to be a major player in serious games, education, and social science research and applications.