You have full access to this open access article. The present study systematically reviewed scientific literature addressing the concept of artificial companions ACs. The dataset, which encompasses 22 years of research, was drawn from multiple interdisciplinary sources and resulted in the development of an interdisciplinary definition of the AC concept.
This definition consists of two key characteristics: adaptivity and engagement, the hallmarks of ACs to form emotional bonds and long-term relationships with users. In the third part, the study explored AC scenarios and identified roles that ACs can perform with their associated competencies, user groups, and application areas.
The findings of this study are seen as a proposal for future empirical research to test what features in communication and interaction design play a crucial role in shaping the perception of an agent as an AC. Likewise, we see a broad number of research projects aiming to develop companion systems, e.
Footnote 6 These examples show that the idea of an artificial companion seems to be an enduringly pursued concept in pop culture, economy and science. Nevertheless, it is not easy to say what distinguishes an artificial companion from other social technology.
Hug [ 8 ] recently examined the ambiguous use of the companion term. This uncertainty could be due to the various interdisciplinary approaches [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ] that have not yet been systematically brought together. Looking at previous research, two things, in particular, stand out: Firstly, some papers understand ACs as a vision for progressive humanβmachine interaction e.
