automated generation of agent behaviour from formal models of interaction
We illustrate how a formal model of interaction can be employed to generate documentation on how to use an application, in the form of an Animated Agent. The formal model is XDM, an extension of Coloured Petri Nets that enables representing user-adapted interfaces, simulating their behaviour and making pre-empirical usability evaluations. XDM-Agent is a personality-rich animated character that uses this formal model to illustrate the role of interface objects and to explain how tasks may be performed; its behaviour is programmed by a schema-based planning followed by a surface generation, in which verbal and non-verbal acts are combined appropriately, the agent's 'personality' may be adapted to the user characteristics.
formal models of interaction animated agents user manuals generation