Chat-Bot-Kit: A web-based tool to simulate text-based interactions between humans and with computers
This tool addresses the problem for researchers in computer-mediated communication, human-computer interaction, and natural language processing by providing a platform for controlled studies, but it is incremental as it builds on existing simulation methods.
The authors tackled the need for a research tool to simulate text-based interactions by developing Chat-Bot-Kit, a web-based tool that enables language studies with structured performance data like pause and keyboard speed, and supports modes for quasi-synchronous and synchronous chats.
In this paper, we describe Chat-Bot-Kit, a web-based tool for text-based chats that we designed for research purposes in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Chat-Bot-Kit enables to carry out language studies on text-based real-time chats for the purpose of research: The generated messages are structured with language performance data such as pause and speed of keyboard-handling and the movement of the mouse. The tool provides two modes of chat communications - quasi-synchron and synchron modes - and various typing indicators. The tool is also designed to be used in wizard-of-oz studies in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and for the evaluation of chatbots (dialogue systems) in Natural Language Processing (NLP).