Modeling interaction in automated e-coaching: a case from insomnia therapy

This paper presents the work in progress on the Sleepcare-project. The aim of the project is to enhance the understanding of personalized self-help therapy with the aid of existing (mobile) technology, in particular in the domain of insomnia. For that, an agent-based e-coaching system is being developed in which various persuasion strategies for sustainable behavior change are evaluated. The e-coach is considered as a cooperative partner that combines various interaction modalities (e.g., dialogue, buttons, sensors) and that supports the individual with various exercises for insomnia therapy. Central in the approach is to improve the individual’s adherence to these exercises. In this paper, we focus on the basic interaction model of the e-coach and some of its requirements, such as transparency, mutual commitment and adaptation