Simulating empathy for the virtual human Max

Boukricha H, Becker C, Wachsmuth I. Simulating empathy for the virtual human Max. In: Reichardt D, Levi P, eds. Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Emotion and Computing - Current Research and Future Impact. 2007: 23-28.Addressing user’s emotions in human-computer interaction significantly enhances the believability and lifelikeness of virtual humans. Emotion recognition and interpretation is realized in our approach by integrating empathy as a designated process within the agent’s cognitive architecture. In this paper we describe this empathy process which comprises of two interconnected components: a belief-desire-intention (BDI) based cognitive component and an affective component based on the emotion simulation system of the virtual human Max. The application and a preliminary evaluation of this empathy system are reported on in the context of a 3D competitive card game scenario