CATEGORY: Agent-based Interfaces; Autonomy and Active Ageing; Intelligent Companions; Multi-modal Interaction ; Personalized Interfaces; Speech and Tactile Interfaces; Systems to Encourage Healthy Lifestyles

SOURCE: In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health - ICT4AWE, ISBN 978-989-758-299-8; ISSN 2184-4984, SciTePress, pages 219-226. DOI: 10.5220/0006787702190226

Council of Coaches - A Novel Holistic Behavior Change Coaching Approach

Harm op den Akker, Rieks op den Akker, Tessa Beinema, Oresti Banos, Dirk Heylen, Björn Bedsted, Alison Pease, Catherine Pelachaud, Vicente Traver Salcedo, Sofoklis Kyriazakos, and Hermie Hermens

Abstract

A modern way of life needs a modern way of coaching. Despite the proliferation of ICT solutions for personalized health care, there is still no easy way to provide older adults with integrated coaching services. In this paper we introduce the concept of Council of Coaches - a radically new virtual coaching concept based on multiple autonomous, embodied virtual coaches, which form together a personal council that fulfills the needs of older adults in an integrated way. In this concept, coaching takes the form of an open dialog in which clients co-construct together with a selected number of coaches their own plans to go for a healthier lifestyle. Virtual coaches are presented to users by means of embodied conversational social characters. We discuss technical and social challenges on the path towards realizing the Council of Coaches concept, a radically new view of health coaching that involves the state of the art in human-computer interaction, natural dialogue, and argumentation technology.