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THE RASCALLI PROJECT Project Description
The project RASCALLI aims at the development of responsive artificial
situated cognitive agents that live and learn on the Internet
(Rascalli). Rascalli represent a growing class of cooperative agents
that do not have a physical presence, but nevertheless are equipped
with major ingredients of cognition including situated correlates of
physical embodiment to become adaptive, cooperative and self improving
in a certain environment (Internet) given certain tasks. Their
task-based processing of Web content requires an action-based model of
interpretative perception. Because of the size and importance of their
memory, special attention is paid to the associative structuring of
the acquired information based on interests and experience, and to
models of an active, permanently structure-creating and restructuring
memory. With Rascalli we aim at artificial agents that are able to
combine human and computer skills in such a way that both kinds of
abilities can be optimally employed for the benefit of the human user.
We develop and implement a system that integrates a cognitive model
and architecture with modules such as digital memory, knowledge
representation and special purpose components as realized in
question-answering systems and music search engines. The system allows
a user to create a digital presence functioning like an avatar or
agent that lives in the Internet and can be instructed by the user to
collect information on certain user defined topics, to engage on
behalf of the user in Web communities, to establish contact with other
digital presences, avatars and users, etc. In the human-computer
interface, Rascalli appear as embodied conversational characters The
feasibility of the approach is demonstrated via two application
scenarios: a scenario where users train their Rascalli to successfully
compete in a quiz game, and a scenario where Rascalli assist the human
user in gathering and organizing information related to music.
Play with RASCALLI yourself!
Web interface to the RASCALLI system (URL)
RASCALLI Embodied Conversational Agent (3D Client to be installed on your computer)
Gossip Galore, a virtual companion to gossip about the music world
(URL)
RASCALLI is supported by the European Commission Cognitive Systems
Programme (IST-27596-2004).
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Internal links:
RASCALLI develops a new type of personalized cognitive agents, the
Rascalli, that live and learn on the Internet.
Rascalli
combine Internet-based perception, action, reasoning, learning, and
communication.
Rascalli come into existence by creation
through the user. The users not only create their Rascalli but also
train them to fulfil specific tasks, such as be experts in a quiz
game or assist the user in a music portal.
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