Project Description

"Conversational Agents in Web-Based Consumer Environments Designed for Older Users" is a multimodal technology that relies on speech, touch and text technologies to help seniors shop online. The experimental website allows users to navigate through an e-commerce website, browse products and make purchases while communicating their desires to a conversational agent.


Unlike the younger and more tech savvy generation, the majority of senior citizens do not use the Internet. Studies show that senior citizens loose their hand-eye coordination, hindering their ability to manage moving the mouse while navigating a webpage.


The Conversational Agent tool provides an alternative to traditional web surfing and shift away from conventional desktop design. The tool offers a solution to this matter by utilizing the help of a conversational agent. The conversation agent acts as a personal helper, instructing the user and offering helpful information when asked for help.


This project is being developed in the Human-Centered Computing lab at Clemson University, and is being funded by the National Science Foundation, grant number 0955763. Click here for more information.



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