Virtual coach to help smokers
2006-05-24 15:24
London - If you've tried to give up smoking but don't have the willpower or are too embarrassed to seek help, Dutch researchers may have the answer.
They are developing a virtual coach to provide smokers with
round-the-clock reinforcement to help them kick the habit.
"Shrouded in the anonymity provided by the internet, smokers can log on to a website and type questions and confessions into a chat box," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.
The virtual coach, being designed by Betsy van Dijk and
researchers at the University of Twente in Enschede and the
Dutch anti-smoking group Stivoro, will give advice and
encouragement at all hours.
The concept has already been used successfully in the United
States to encourage elderly people to exercise more, according
to the magazine.
The female autoresponder will be programmed to have human
characteristics and will respond with answers and facial
expressions used by Stivoro's human counsellors.
If the virtual coach proves a success, the researchers may
extend it to help alcoholics and people trying to overcome
phobias.
- Reuters