Overview

Intro, overview of component. What does it do, what does it not do, why is it useful, what can users and developers expect, where is the component located, etc.

Users

How to start the NPCEditor

In the launcher, click launch in the NPCEditor row under "Agents".  It will also run by default when you launch "Run Checked"

Overview

NPCEditor controls the spoken behavior of the characters in the Virtual Humans Toolkit, as well as the structure and logic of the interaction using a dialog manager.  It contains a list of user and character utterances, divided into "Questions" and "Answers", and the links between them.  NPCEditor uses a statistical text classifier to determine the best character response to user input, allowing users to converse with the characters with minimal effort.

Users

How to launch NPCEditor

In the launcher, click launch in the NPCEditor row under "Agents".  It will also run by default when you launch "Run Checked"

Quick Start

The quickest way to make a character speak a line is to double click an entry in the right side of the Utterances Tab, under "Answers".  The character should speak the line you've selected, with lip sync and gestures.

NPCEditor Layout

NPCEditor has a series of tabs, each representing a different facet of the overall program.  The two main tabs for users are the Utterances Tab and the Chat Tab.

Utterances Tab

The left hand side of the Utterances tab lists the Questions, while the right is dedicated to the Answers.  Questions are examples of user utterances that the system expects to receive.  This can include questions, "What is your name?", and statements, "Tell me about yourself."  When NPCEditor receives user input, whether typed or spoken through AcquireSpeech, it uses a statistical classifier to compare the input to known Questions.  If there is an exact match, NPCEditor automatically matches the two strings.  If there is not an exact match, the classifier determines the closest line in the Questions tab and responds with the highest scored linked Answer.

Chat Tab

Image Added

The Chat Tab allows you to see a log of the latest discussion with an NPCEditor controlled character, and interact with a character independent of other tools.  The body of the tab is by default a maximized chat interface.  Users may enter what they wish to say to a character at the bottom, and the classifier will select the best response and print it to the Conversation Log.  For example, as you speak to Brad with your microphone, you will see your speech and Brad's responses populate the log.  If you wish to type an answer, you may do so here by selecting the user to speak as, typing your utterance, then pressing "Enter Question" in the bottom right.  If Unity or another engine is running, Brad should speak and respond there, as well as in his window.  Even without any other components running, you can test text interaction with a character through this interface.

Along the left hand side are other tools for seeing how the classifier within NPCEditor parses user input, analyzes it, and selects the best response.

Authors

Overall approach

...