Robot Motivator: Towards Adaptive Health Games for Productive Long-Term Interaction

This study examines the influence of virtual social characters on people’s motivation to exercise.  Study participants ages 60 and older are randomly assigned to exercise by following the lead of either (1) an embodied character, which is a human-looking robot that demonstrates exercises right there in the room with them, or (2) an animated presentation of the same robot on a television screen.  The study investigates the role of physical embodiment and social presence on participants’ motivation to engage in and persist in exercise and physical activity.