An Avatar-Mediated Communication System for the Construction of Interpersonal Relationships

In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of a novel telecommunication system, the avatar-mediated communication (AMC) system, for constructing interpersonal relationships. In the AMC system, human users develop conversation experiences through software agents without directly interacting with their conversation partners. We develop an experimental platform for human users to control software agents to interact with their conversation partners and examine how their actions of controlling the software agents and consequences led by the software agents contribute to the development of their conversation experiences and interpersonal relationships. Experimental results demonstrate that actions are not important; however, consequences are important. The result sets a basis for the design and implementation of future AMC systems.

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