Steve: An Animated Pedagogical Agent for Procedural Training in Virtual Environments (Extended Abstract)

) Jeff Rickel and W. Lewis Johnson Information Sciences Institute & Computer Science Department University of Southern California 4676 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695 (310) 822-1511 Fax: (310) 822-0751 rickel, johnson@isi.edu http://www.isi.edu/isd/VET/vet.html March 3, 1997 Abstract Virtual reality can broaden the types of interaction between students and computer tutors. As in conventional simulation-based training, the computer can watch students practice tasks, responding to questions and offering advice. However, immersive virtual environments also allow the computer tutor to physically inhabit the virtual world with the student. Unlike previous, disembodied computer tutors, such a "pedagogical agent" can physically collaborate with students, enabling new types of interaction. To illustrate the possibilities, this paper describes Steve, a pedagogical agent for virtual environments that helps students learn procedural tasks. After providing an overview of Steve's capa..