Information for Subjects

What role does the use of the body, such as eye gaze and hand gesture, play in human conversation and communication? How can we use computer-generated virtual humans to better understand real human communication? How can those virtual humans and other kinds of computational peers facilitate language and literacy education? At the ArticuLab, we are investigating these and other questions concerning the intersection of language, learning, humans and computers.

Our primary tool for the exploration of these areas is the Embodied Conversational Agent (ECA), a virtual human capable of interacting with humans using both speech and nonverbal behavior. Our projects include Story Listening Systems (SLS) where virtual children help real children learn, and ECAs that are capable of having unscripted conversations with real humans.

In order to better understand the roles of speech, gesture and eye gaze and language among humans, and between humans and computers, we are looking for people interested in being experimental subjects in our lab.

We are carrying out experiments with children ages 4 -8.

In some of our studies, we videotape conversations between people, in order to better understand the contribution of verbal and nonverbal behavior. In some studies we videotapes conversations between a human and a virtual person, to better understand what it is like for a human to interact with this kind of computer interface. In all cases, the sessions are recorded by several video cameras for later data analysis.

Our studies have been approved by a strict and thorough Institutional Review Board (I.R.B.) at Northwestern University, which is designed to protect the health and safety of all participants.

Participation only requires a single visit and does not commit participants to future studies. The visits usually last 30 to 45 minutes, but subjects should plan on a one-hour visit in order to give us time to explain the study in more detail.

Click here to schedule a study!

The appointments are scheduled for one hour, including detailed description of the research project with participants themselves or, for children, with parents.
Participation is voluntary. There is no future commitment and the study can be stopped at any time.
Our studies are approved by the Northwestern IRB, a committee that is designed to protect all research participants.

Location:

The ArticuLab is located in the Frances Searle Building on Northwestern University's Evanston campus. The Frances Searle Building is located four blocks east of the CTA Noyes El station. Click here for a campus map.

The Articulab at Northwestern University
Frances Searle Building
Room 2-147
2240 Campus Drive
Evanston, IL 60208

Click here for driving directions. If you are arriving by CTA bus or train, we will provide tickets. Click here to plan your trip with CTA.

Parking Information:

Parking is available directly behind the Frances Searle Building. We will provide a pre-paid parking pass upon arrival.