HCC: Large: Collaborative Research: Always-On Relational Agents for Social Support of Older Adults

HCC：大型：协作研究：用于老年人社会支持的始终在线关系代理

• 批准号: 1012083
• 负责人: Candace Sidner
• 金额: $ 108.44万
• 依托单位: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-15 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1012083&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: HCC; Large; Collaborative; Research; Always

This project will create a new category of intelligent, autonomous virtual or robotic agent, which is continuously operating and interacting with humans - always on - for long periods of time and whose primary motivation is building and maintaining long-term social relationships with humans. The initial application focus of this research is to provide companionship and social support and to promote wellness for older adults who are living alone. For example, during a typical day, an always-on relational agent might play a social game of cards with the adult, act as an exercise coach and help arrange visits or phone calls with the adult's family and friends.A new integrated theory of social agency, called SharedPlans Relationship Theory, will be developed to serve as a principled foundation for these relational agents. The theory will be grounded in an always-on relational software architecture, which will be distributed as open-source for others to use and extend. Using a participatory design process, including home and laboratory studies, the target user population will help develop the specifications for a relational agent, which will then be constructed using the theory and software architecture, and placed in users' homes for long-term (month or more) longitudinal evaluation.This project will make fundamental, theoretical contributions to models of relationship, sociality, interactional engagement and social support. The effort will also produce new insights into how people in general, and older adults in particular, enact social support at the relational, activity and micro-behavioral levels of analysis. The new always-on relational software architecture will be a fundamental advance over current agent architectures, which only support brief, focused interactions around a well-specified task. This architecture will also support incremental extension of agent capabilities and be able to control either virtual and robotic agent embodiments.Social isolation is a broadly troubling trend in modern society. Always-on relational agents have the potential to counteract this isolation both directly, by providing companionship, and as intermediaries, by putting isolated people in contact with other people, both electronically and physically. Companionship and social support are also known to be significant positive factors in disease recovery and mortality, especially for older adults. The application focus of this project therefore has the potential for helping with health care cost control.

该项目将创建一个新的智能，自主虚拟或机器人代理的新类别，该类别长期与人（始终与人类互动）持续 - 长期以来 - 其主要动机是建立和维持与人类的长期社会关系。 这项研究的最初应用重点是提供陪伴和社会支持，并为独自生活的老年人促进健康。例如，在典型的一天中，一个始终在线的关系代理商可能会与成人一起玩社交纸牌游戏，充当运动教练，并帮助安排与成人家人和朋友的访问或电话。一种称为共享计划关系理论的新型社会代理理论，将被开发为这些关系代理人的原则基础。该理论将基于始终在线的关系软件体系结构，该架构将作为开源供他人使用和扩展。使用参与式设计过程，包括家庭和实验室研究，目标用户群体将有助于开发关系代理的规格，然后将使用理论和软件体系结构来构建，并将其放置在用户的长期（月或更多）纵向评估的用户家中。此项目将对关系，社会性，互动，社会互动，互动和社会支持的模型进行理论贡献。这项努力还将对人们尤其是老年人特别是在关系，活动和微观行为分析水平的社会支持方面产生新的见解。与当前的代理体系结构相比，新的始终连接软件体系结构将是一个基本进步，该架构仅支持围绕明确指定的任务进行简短的，集中的互动。该体系结构还将支持代理能力的逐步扩展，并能够控制虚拟和机器人的代理体现。社会隔离是现代社会的广泛令人不安的趋势。始终在线的关系代理有可能通过提供伴侣和中间人来直接抵消这种隔离，并通过以电子方式和物理方式与孤立的人接触其他人。众所周知，陪伴和社会支持是疾病恢复和死亡率的重要积极因素，尤其是对于老年人。因此，该项目的应用重点有可能帮助控制医疗成本。