Shared reality: physical collaboration with a virtual peer

We describe a novel interface, in which a human and embodied conversational agent share a seamlessly integrated virtual and physical environment. This type of interface, in which objects are passed from the real to the virtual world, has potential applications in unsupervised learning, collaborative work, and entertainment. We introduce Sam, our first implementation of such an interface, which allows children to engage in natural storytelling play with real objects, in collaboration with a virtual playmate who shares access to those real objects.