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This study introduces a mixed-agent tour guide system that combines a physical robot with a virtual agent to enhance visitor engagement and learning in museums. Through a within-subjects study involving 30 participants, the researchers found that while engagement and experience quality were consistent across different configurations, female participants showed significantly improved learning outcomes in mixed-agent conditions. Additionally, all participants expressed a preference for the mixed-agent setup, highlighting the importance of interactive experiences in educational contexts.
Female visitors learned significantly better with mixed-agent tour guides, revealing gender-specific benefits in interactive educational settings.
Robots are increasingly integrated into everyday contexts, including museums, where they can both entertain and educate visitors. To enhance visitor experience and engagement, we present a novel mixed-agent tour guide system that combines a physical robot with a projected virtual agent that actively participates in the tour through conversation and interaction, achieving the interaction richness of two mobile agents from a single platform. We validate the system through a within-subjects study with 30 participants to assess engagement, quality of experience, and learning performance. Participants experienced different conversational styles and agent configurations, and data were collected via surveys, behavioral sensors, and interviews. Results showed that engagement and quality of experience remained consistent across conditions. Learning performance revealed a significant gender-moderated difference: the mixed-agent conditions improved learning performance for female participants. This suggests that the proposed dyadic conversational style in this paper influenced learning performance differently by gender. Nonetheless, in interviews, participants reported a greater preference for mixed-agent teams regardless of gender, citing interaction as a key factor in their experience.
