A Virtual Clown Behavior Model Based on Emotional Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architecture

Many digital devices and systems that interact with humans can be expected to become emotional in the coming years. This transition will help them achieve trust and mutual understanding in establishing contacts at the social level, which is necessary for their integration into human society. The main problem is the ability to understand emotions and adequately respond to them: i.e., emotional intelligence, both verbal and non-verbal, which today is fully realized only in biological systems. In this work, four experimental paradigms were used for the development and study of a general model of social-emotional intelligence: a virtual dance partner, a virtual clown improvisation, a virtual pet, and a virtual interlocutor. The virtual actor model implemented the basics of the eBICA cognitive architecture. Characteristics of the virtual actor behavior were evaluated and, when possible, compared against the characteristics of human behavior in the same settings. Preliminary results support the idea of one universal cognitive model applicability to a variety of domains and interaction paradigms involving human and virtual actors. Practical implications of the concept are discussed.