Communicability of traditional interfaces VS chatbots in healthcare and smart home domains

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a study about communicability of conversational interfaces (namely chatbots) under a semiotic perspective. A chatbot is a software system that allows you to simulate real conversations between devices and users by means of a conversational interface (CI). After introducing the chatbot concept, focusing on its advantages and issues, we will present two domains of use in which chatbot interfaces can be effective: healthcare and smart home. For carrying out simple tasks such as finding information or triggering operations, users need an easy-to-use and to an easy-to-learn system to communicate with. To face this, conversational interfaces represent the latest trend in the field of digital design. For studying the communicability aspects of a CI, we carried out a user test to compare traditional and chatbot interfaces. This paper aims at evaluating the benefits at the communicability level of a chatbot in comparison to traditional GUI for incrementing the effectiveness and efficacy of communication between users and the system specifically for users with poor attitude in using technologies. In details, we evaluated the communicability of two prototypes that can be used to solve simple tasks in order to favour user inclusion, including everyone with very little exposure to technologies.

KEYWORDS:

• Conversational interfaces
• design trade-off
• smart home
• healthcare
• communicability
• computer semiotics

Acknowledgments

This work is partially supported by two projects funded by Regione Lombardia: I-VITAE New Pathways for Life and Social appliances for Industry 4.0 - EaSy 4.0 Smart Living. The authors want to thank Carlo Cassanelli for the collaboration in developing the chatbots used for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Stefano Valtolina http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1949-2992

Barbara Rita Barricelli http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9575-5542

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.popularapp.periodcalendar&hl=it

2 www.draw.io/