Extending Sam : Utilizing Multiple Toys

Sam is a life-sized on-screen character who shares a physical castle and a plastic figurine with children, and takes turns with children to tell stories using the figurine. In this thesis, the original Sam system is improved. Now Sam shares two figurines with the user, and tells fantasy stories from the narrator's perspective. When Sam takes turn to tell story, Sam identifies the toys in the virtual world, plays with the virtual figurines, and tells stories involving the specific characters. When the child tells a story, Sam displays appropriate listening behaviors according to the physical location of each toy. The new system encourages children to tell more interesting stories in a narrator's perspective. Thesis supervisor: Justine Cassell Title: AT&T Career Development Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT