Kesego Mokgosi

Title: Adaptive Mulitimodal Avatars for Speech Therapy Support

Supervision Team: Robert Ross, TU Dublin / Naomi Harte, TCD / Cathy Ennis, TU Dublin

Description: Pediatric speech and language therapy is a challenging domain that can benefit from effective conversational coach design, and in this research we aim to push the boundaries of virtual agents for speech therapy by investigating methods for speech therapy system development so as to make the system not only effective at communicating speech therapy goals, but also to provide such instruction in a fluent and approachable avatar that the young service user can engage with. This work will involve systematic research with key partners including therapists and end users, as well as the development of prototype personas and strategies for a conversational speech therapy system to supplement in-clinic care. This work is well suited to a Computer Scientist who has experience in either virtual character design or conversational system development. The ideal candidate will also have an interest in user studies and health care.