FurChat: An Embodied Conversational Agent using LLMs, Combining Open and Closed-Domain Dialogue with Facial Expressions
This work addresses the need for engaging human-robot interaction in specific settings like visitor centers, but it is incremental as it applies existing LLM technology to a new robotic platform.
The researchers developed an embodied conversational agent, FurChat, using GPT-3.5 on a Furhat robot to serve as a receptionist, generating open and closed-domain dialogue with facial expressions for visitor interactions at the National Robotarium.
We demonstrate an embodied conversational agent that can function as a receptionist and generate a mixture of open and closed-domain dialogue along with facial expressions, by using a large language model (LLM) to develop an engaging conversation. We deployed the system onto a Furhat robot, which is highly expressive and capable of using both verbal and nonverbal cues during interaction. The system was designed specifically for the National Robotarium to interact with visitors through natural conversations, providing them with information about the facilities, research, news, upcoming events, etc. The system utilises the state-of-the-art GPT-3.5 model to generate such information along with domain-general conversations and facial expressions based on prompt engineering.