AHCI RESEARCH GROUP
Publications
Papers published in international journals,
proceedings of conferences, workshops and books.
OUR RESEARCH
Scientific Publications
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You can expand the Abstract, Links and BibTex record for each paper.
2023
Augello, Agnese; Città, Giuseppe; Gentile, Manuel; Lieto, Antonio
A storytelling robot managing persuasive and ethical stances via act-r: an exploratory study Journal Article
In: International Journal of Social Robotics, vol. 15, no. 12, pp. 2115–2131, 2023, ISSN: 18754791.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Ethical Argumentation, Ethics, Persuasive Systems, Social Agents, Social Robots, Storytelling Robots
@article{agnese_augello_storytelling_2023,
title = {A storytelling robot managing persuasive and ethical stances via act-r: an exploratory study},
author = {Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Città and Manuel Gentile and Antonio Lieto},
doi = {doi:10.1007/s12369-021-00847-w},
issn = {18754791},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
journal = {International Journal of Social Robotics},
volume = {15},
number = {12},
pages = {2115–2131},
series = {Springer Netherlands},
abstract = {We present a storytelling robot, controlled via the ACT-R cognitive architecture, able to adopt different persuasive techniques and ethical stances while conversing about some topics concerning COVID-19. The main contribution of the paper consists in the proposal of a needs-driven model that guides and evaluates, during the dialogue, the use (if any) of persuasive techniques available in the agent procedural memory. The portfolio of persuasive techniques tested in such a model ranges from the use of storytelling to framing techniques and rhetorical-based arguments. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first attempt of building a persuasive agent able to integrate a mix of explicitly grounded cognitive assumptions about dialogue management, storytelling and persuasive techniques as well as ethical attitudes. The paper presents the results of an exploratory evaluation of the system on 63 participants.},
keywords = {Ethical Argumentation, Ethics, Persuasive Systems, Social Agents, Social Robots, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
We present a storytelling robot, controlled via the ACT-R cognitive architecture, able to adopt different persuasive techniques and ethical stances while conversing about some topics concerning COVID-19. The main contribution of the paper consists in the proposal of a needs-driven model that guides and evaluates, during the dialogue, the use (if any) of persuasive techniques available in the agent procedural memory. The portfolio of persuasive techniques tested in such a model ranges from the use of storytelling to framing techniques and rhetorical-based arguments. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first attempt of building a persuasive agent able to integrate a mix of explicitly grounded cognitive assumptions about dialogue management, storytelling and persuasive techniques as well as ethical attitudes. The paper presents the results of an exploratory evaluation of the system on 63 participants.
2022
Gatto, Luigi; Gaglio, Giuseppe Fulvio; Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Gallo, Luigi; Cascia, Marco La
MET-iquette: Enabling Virtual Agents to Have a Social Compliant Behavior in the Metaverse Proceedings Article
In: 2022 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS), pp. 394–401, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Avatars, Cognition, Metaverse, NPC, Scene Understanding, Social Agents, Social Practices
@inproceedings{gattoMETiquetteEnablingVirtual2022a,
title = {MET-iquette: Enabling Virtual Agents to Have a Social Compliant Behavior in the Metaverse},
author = { Luigi Gatto and Giuseppe Fulvio Gaglio and Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Gallo and Marco La Cascia},
doi = {10.1109/SITIS57111.2022.00066},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-10-01},
booktitle = {2022 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS)},
pages = {394--401},
abstract = {Metaverse aims at connecting the physical and digital world in a highly immersive virtual environment that can replicate society and social practices within it. It is populated not only by avatars corresponding to users but also by nonplayer characters (NPCs). These virtual agents should be able to perceive other agents and objects in the scene, reason and act preferably by exhibiting credible and acceptable social behavior. Relying on the Social Practice theory, this work proposes an architecture for the design and development of a virtual agent able to understand social practices in the Metaverse and act by respecting the social norms that the circumstances entail. The agent is equipped with modules for recognizing elements of the scene, knowledge and rules about a set of social practices. The scene information is exploited by a reasoning module that allows the agent to evaluate the current social practice, socially interpret the events, and activate the most appropriate behaviors. The paper describes the proposed architecture, its implementation, and the realization of an experimental virtual scenario.},
keywords = {Avatars, Cognition, Metaverse, NPC, Scene Understanding, Social Agents, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Metaverse aims at connecting the physical and digital world in a highly immersive virtual environment that can replicate society and social practices within it. It is populated not only by avatars corresponding to users but also by nonplayer characters (NPCs). These virtual agents should be able to perceive other agents and objects in the scene, reason and act preferably by exhibiting credible and acceptable social behavior. Relying on the Social Practice theory, this work proposes an architecture for the design and development of a virtual agent able to understand social practices in the Metaverse and act by respecting the social norms that the circumstances entail. The agent is equipped with modules for recognizing elements of the scene, knowledge and rules about a set of social practices. The scene information is exploited by a reasoning module that allows the agent to evaluate the current social practice, socially interpret the events, and activate the most appropriate behaviors. The paper describes the proposed architecture, its implementation, and the realization of an experimental virtual scenario.
Gatto, Luigi; Gaglio, Giuseppe Fulvio; Augello, Agnese; Caggianese, Giuseppe; Gallo, Luigi; Cascia, Marco La
MET-iquette: enabling virtual agents to have a social compliant behavior in the Metaverse Proceedings Article
In: 2022 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS), pp. 394–401, 2022.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Avatars, Cognition, Emotional Appraisal, Metaverse, Model of Emotion, NPC, OCC, Reasoning, Scene Understanding, Social Agents, Social Practices
@inproceedings{gatto_met-iquette_2022,
title = {MET-iquette: enabling virtual agents to have a social compliant behavior in the Metaverse},
author = {Luigi Gatto and Giuseppe Fulvio Gaglio and Agnese Augello and Giuseppe Caggianese and Luigi Gallo and Marco La Cascia},
doi = {10.1109/SITIS57111.2022.00066},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-10-01},
booktitle = {2022 16th International Conference on Signal-Image Technology & Internet-Based Systems (SITIS)},
pages = {394–401},
abstract = {Metaverse aims at connecting the physical and digital world in a highly immersive virtual environment that can replicate society and social practices within it. It is populated not only by avatars corresponding to users but also by nonplayer characters (NPCs). These virtual agents should be able to perceive other agents and objects in the scene, reason and act preferably by exhibiting credible and acceptable social behavior. Relying on the Social Practice theory, this work proposes an architecture for the design and development of a virtual agent able to understand social practices in the Metaverse and act by respecting the social norms that the circumstances entail. The agent is equipped with modules for recognizing elements of the scene, knowledge and rules about a set of social practices. The scene information is exploited by a reasoning module that allows the agent to evaluate the current social practice, socially interpret the events, and activate the most appropriate behaviors. The paper describes the proposed architecture, its implementation, and the realization of an experimental virtual scenario.},
keywords = {Avatars, Cognition, Emotional Appraisal, Metaverse, Model of Emotion, NPC, OCC, Reasoning, Scene Understanding, Social Agents, Social Practices},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Metaverse aims at connecting the physical and digital world in a highly immersive virtual environment that can replicate society and social practices within it. It is populated not only by avatars corresponding to users but also by nonplayer characters (NPCs). These virtual agents should be able to perceive other agents and objects in the scene, reason and act preferably by exhibiting credible and acceptable social behavior. Relying on the Social Practice theory, this work proposes an architecture for the design and development of a virtual agent able to understand social practices in the Metaverse and act by respecting the social norms that the circumstances entail. The agent is equipped with modules for recognizing elements of the scene, knowledge and rules about a set of social practices. The scene information is exploited by a reasoning module that allows the agent to evaluate the current social practice, socially interpret the events, and activate the most appropriate behaviors. The paper describes the proposed architecture, its implementation, and the realization of an experimental virtual scenario.
Augello, Agnese
Unveiling the Reasoning Processes of Robots through Introspective Dialogues in a Storytelling System: A Study on the Elicited Empathy Journal Article
In: Cognitive Systems Research, vol. 73, pp. 12–20, 2022, ISSN: 13890417.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ACT-R, Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Empathy, Gestural user interfaces, Introspective Dialogs, Personality, Reasoning, Social Agents, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots
@article{augelloUnveilingReasoningProcesses2022,
title = {Unveiling the Reasoning Processes of Robots through Introspective Dialogues in a Storytelling System: A Study on the Elicited Empathy},
author = { Agnese Augello},
doi = {10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.11.006},
issn = {13890417},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Cognitive Systems Research},
volume = {73},
pages = {12--20},
abstract = {The work studies the empathy elicited by a storytelling system in which the characters in the story are interpreted by humanoid robots and modelled as cognitive agents. The ACT-R architecture is exploited to shape the characters' personalities and equip them with knowledge and behaviours typical of social practices. The narration is enriched with gestures and emotional expressions obtained by setting parameters that can be correlated to some emotions, such as the pitch and speech rate, the LEDs colour and the head inclination. The system has been evaluated by comparing a simple narrative modality with an enhanced one, where an introspective dialogue is adopted to explain and let transparent the internal reasoning processes of the characters. The obtained results show that storytelling affected the cognitive component of empathy, especially through the advanced narrative mode. textcopyright 2022 Elsevier B.V.},
keywords = {ACT-R, Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Empathy, Gestural user interfaces, Introspective Dialogs, Personality, Reasoning, Social Agents, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The work studies the empathy elicited by a storytelling system in which the characters in the story are interpreted by humanoid robots and modelled as cognitive agents. The ACT-R architecture is exploited to shape the characters' personalities and equip them with knowledge and behaviours typical of social practices. The narration is enriched with gestures and emotional expressions obtained by setting parameters that can be correlated to some emotions, such as the pitch and speech rate, the LEDs colour and the head inclination. The system has been evaluated by comparing a simple narrative modality with an enhanced one, where an introspective dialogue is adopted to explain and let transparent the internal reasoning processes of the characters. The obtained results show that storytelling affected the cognitive component of empathy, especially through the advanced narrative mode. textcopyright 2022 Elsevier B.V.
Augello, Agnese
Unveiling the reasoning processes of robots through introspective dialogues in a storytelling system: A study on the elicited empathy Journal Article
In: Cognitive Systems Research, vol. 73, pp. 12–20, 2022, ISSN: 13890417.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: ACT-R, Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Empathy, Gestural user interfaces, Introspective Dialogs, Personality, Reasoning, Social Agents, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots
@article{augello_unveiling_2022,
title = {Unveiling the reasoning processes of robots through introspective dialogues in a storytelling system: A study on the elicited empathy},
author = {Agnese Augello},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85122793053&doi=10.1016%2fj.cogsys.2021.11.006&partnerID=40&md5=4564d1566fc0aa809badb52cd9b60c96},
doi = {10.1016/j.cogsys.2021.11.006},
issn = {13890417},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Cognitive Systems Research},
volume = {73},
pages = {12–20},
abstract = {The work studies the empathy elicited by a storytelling system in which the characters in the story are interpreted by humanoid robots and modelled as cognitive agents. The ACT-R architecture is exploited to shape the characters’ personalities and equip them with knowledge and behaviours typical of social practices. The narration is enriched with gestures and emotional expressions obtained by setting parameters that can be correlated to some emotions, such as the pitch and speech rate, the LEDs colour and the head inclination. The system has been evaluated by comparing a simple narrative modality with an enhanced one, where an introspective dialogue is adopted to explain and let transparent the internal reasoning processes of the characters. The obtained results show that storytelling affected the cognitive component of empathy, especially through the advanced narrative mode. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.},
keywords = {ACT-R, Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Systems, Empathy, Gestural user interfaces, Introspective Dialogs, Personality, Reasoning, Social Agents, Social Practices, Storytelling Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The work studies the empathy elicited by a storytelling system in which the characters in the story are interpreted by humanoid robots and modelled as cognitive agents. The ACT-R architecture is exploited to shape the characters’ personalities and equip them with knowledge and behaviours typical of social practices. The narration is enriched with gestures and emotional expressions obtained by setting parameters that can be correlated to some emotions, such as the pitch and speech rate, the LEDs colour and the head inclination. The system has been evaluated by comparing a simple narrative modality with an enhanced one, where an introspective dialogue is adopted to explain and let transparent the internal reasoning processes of the characters. The obtained results show that storytelling affected the cognitive component of empathy, especially through the advanced narrative mode. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.
2021
Ferrante, Giuliana; Vitale, Gianpaolo; Licari, Amelia; Montalbano, Laura; Pilato, Giovanni; Infantino, Ignazio; Augello, Agnese; Grutta, Stefania La
Social Robots and Therapeutic Adherence: A New Challenge in Pediatric Asthma? Journal Article
In: Paediatric Respiratory Reviews, vol. 40, pp. 46–51, 2021, ISSN: 15260542.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Asthma, Healthcare, Robotics, Social Agents, Social Robots
@article{ferranteSocialRobotsTherapeutic2021,
title = {Social Robots and Therapeutic Adherence: A New Challenge in Pediatric Asthma?},
author = { Giuliana Ferrante and Gianpaolo Vitale and Amelia Licari and Laura Montalbano and Giovanni Pilato and Ignazio Infantino and Agnese Augello and Stefania La Grutta},
doi = {10.1016/j.prrv.2020.11.001},
issn = {15260542},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Paediatric Respiratory Reviews},
volume = {40},
pages = {46--51},
abstract = {Social Robots are used in different contexts and, in healthcare, they are better known as Socially Assistive Robots. In the context of asthma, the use of Socially Assistive Robots has the potential to increase motivation and engagement to treatment. Other positive roles proposed for Socially Assistive Robots are to provide education, training regarding treatments, and feedback to patients. This review evaluates emerging interventions for improving treatment adherence in pediatric asthma, focusing on the possible future role of social robots in the clinical practice. textcopyright 2020 Elsevier Ltd},
keywords = {Asthma, Healthcare, Robotics, Social Agents, Social Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Social Robots are used in different contexts and, in healthcare, they are better known as Socially Assistive Robots. In the context of asthma, the use of Socially Assistive Robots has the potential to increase motivation and engagement to treatment. Other positive roles proposed for Socially Assistive Robots are to provide education, training regarding treatments, and feedback to patients. This review evaluates emerging interventions for improving treatment adherence in pediatric asthma, focusing on the possible future role of social robots in the clinical practice. textcopyright 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Ferrante, Giuliana; Vitale, Gianpaolo; Licari, Amelia; Montalbano, Laura; Pilato, Giovanni; Infantino, Ignazio; Augello, Agnese; Grutta, Stefania La
Social robots and therapeutic adherence: A new challenge in pediatric asthma? Journal Article
In: Paediatric Respiratory Reviews, vol. 40, pp. 46–51, 2021, ISSN: 15260542.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Asthma, Healthcare, Robotics, Social Agents, Social Robots
@article{ferrante_social_2021,
title = {Social robots and therapeutic adherence: A new challenge in pediatric asthma?},
author = {Giuliana Ferrante and Gianpaolo Vitale and Amelia Licari and Laura Montalbano and Giovanni Pilato and Ignazio Infantino and Agnese Augello and Stefania La Grutta},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85099604396&doi=10.1016%2fj.prrv.2020.11.001&partnerID=40&md5=62a90d560382486591043c23bd15f2a9},
doi = {10.1016/j.prrv.2020.11.001},
issn = {15260542},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Paediatric Respiratory Reviews},
volume = {40},
pages = {46–51},
abstract = {Social Robots are used in different contexts and, in healthcare, they are better known as Socially Assistive Robots. In the context of asthma, the use of Socially Assistive Robots has the potential to increase motivation and engagement to treatment. Other positive roles proposed for Socially Assistive Robots are to provide education, training regarding treatments, and feedback to patients. This review evaluates emerging interventions for improving treatment adherence in pediatric asthma, focusing on the possible future role of social robots in the clinical practice. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd},
keywords = {Asthma, Healthcare, Robotics, Social Agents, Social Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Social Robots are used in different contexts and, in healthcare, they are better known as Socially Assistive Robots. In the context of asthma, the use of Socially Assistive Robots has the potential to increase motivation and engagement to treatment. Other positive roles proposed for Socially Assistive Robots are to provide education, training regarding treatments, and feedback to patients. This review evaluates emerging interventions for improving treatment adherence in pediatric asthma, focusing on the possible future role of social robots in the clinical practice. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
2016
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Dignum, Frank
Social Agents for Learning in Virtual Environments Journal Article
In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 10056 LNCS, pp. 133–143, 2016, ISSN: 03029743.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Conversational Agents, E-Learning, Education, IVA, Serious game, Social Agents, Social Context, Social Practices, Virtual Reality
@article{augelloSocialAgentsLearning2016,
title = {Social Agents for Learning in Virtual Environments},
author = { Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Frank Dignum},
editor = { Jeuring J. Veltkamp R.C. Bottino R.},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-50182-6_12},
issn = {03029743},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)},
volume = {10056 LNCS},
pages = {133--143},
abstract = {Several serious games have been proposed to practice communication strategies in formal contexts. Intelligent virtual agents (IVA) can be used to show the player the effects of a conversational move. In this paper we discuss the key role of using social context for the virtual agents in these serious games. Social practices are exploited to bundle social interactions into standard packages and as a basis to model the deliberation processes of IVAs. We describe a social practice oriented IVA architecture used in the implementation of a serious game for the practicing of communication in medical interviews. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2016.},
keywords = {Conversational Agents, E-Learning, Education, IVA, Serious game, Social Agents, Social Context, Social Practices, Virtual Reality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Several serious games have been proposed to practice communication strategies in formal contexts. Intelligent virtual agents (IVA) can be used to show the player the effects of a conversational move. In this paper we discuss the key role of using social context for the virtual agents in these serious games. Social practices are exploited to bundle social interactions into standard packages and as a basis to model the deliberation processes of IVAs. We describe a social practice oriented IVA architecture used in the implementation of a serious game for the practicing of communication in medical interviews. textcopyright Springer International Publishing AG 2016.
Augello, Agnese; Gentile, Manuel; Dignum, Frank
Social agents for learning in virtual environments Journal Article
In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 10056 LNCS, pp. 133–143, 2016, ISSN: 03029743.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Conversational Agents, E-Learning, Education, IVA, Serious game, Social Agents, Social Context, Social Practices, Virtual Reality
@article{augello_social_2016,
title = {Social agents for learning in virtual environments},
author = {Agnese Augello and Manuel Gentile and Frank Dignum},
editor = {Veltkamp R. C. Jeuring J. Bottino R.},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85006036432&doi=10.1007%2f978-3-319-50182-6_12&partnerID=40&md5=e7d1d4e46a92c9cf9d943639fc5dbbc9},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-50182-6_12},
issn = {03029743},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)},
volume = {10056 LNCS},
pages = {133–143},
abstract = {Several serious games have been proposed to practice communication strategies in formal contexts. Intelligent virtual agents (IVA) can be used to show the player the effects of a conversational move. In this paper we discuss the key role of using social context for the virtual agents in these serious games. Social practices are exploited to bundle social interactions into standard packages and as a basis to model the deliberation processes of IVAs. We describe a social practice oriented IVA architecture used in the implementation of a serious game for the practicing of communication in medical interviews. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.},
keywords = {Conversational Agents, E-Learning, Education, IVA, Serious game, Social Agents, Social Context, Social Practices, Virtual Reality},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Several serious games have been proposed to practice communication strategies in formal contexts. Intelligent virtual agents (IVA) can be used to show the player the effects of a conversational move. In this paper we discuss the key role of using social context for the virtual agents in these serious games. Social practices are exploited to bundle social interactions into standard packages and as a basis to model the deliberation processes of IVAs. We describe a social practice oriented IVA architecture used in the implementation of a serious game for the practicing of communication in medical interviews. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.
0000
Licari, Amelia; Ferrante, Giuliana; Malizia, Velia; Augello, Agnese; Grutta, Stefania La
Medical Assistive Robots Book Section
In: Digital Respiratory Healthcare, pp. 16–26, 0000, ISBN: 978-1-84984-173-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Assistive Robots, Asthma, Gamification, Social Agents, Social Robots
@incollection{amelia_licari_medical_nodate,
title = {Medical Assistive Robots},
author = {Amelia Licari and Giuliana Ferrante and Velia Malizia and Agnese Augello and Stefania La Grutta},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1183/2312508X.10000523},
isbn = {978-1-84984-173-3},
booktitle = {Digital Respiratory Healthcare},
pages = {16–26},
series = {ERS Monograph)},
abstract = {Medical assistive robots (MARs) are innovative tools providing extensive support and assistance to users in different medical scenarios, enhancing patients’ health and care. Social MARs have been implemented in respiratory medicine to help manage chronic respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis. To integrate MARs into routine clinical practice, more studies are needed to strengthen the evidence on the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of MARs in chronic respiratory conditions in the long term.},
keywords = {Assistive Robots, Asthma, Gamification, Social Agents, Social Robots},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Medical assistive robots (MARs) are innovative tools providing extensive support and assistance to users in different medical scenarios, enhancing patients’ health and care. Social MARs have been implemented in respiratory medicine to help manage chronic respiratory conditions, such as asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis. To integrate MARs into routine clinical practice, more studies are needed to strengthen the evidence on the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of MARs in chronic respiratory conditions in the long term.