Motivational Environments Research Group

The Motivational Environments Research Group advances Human-Computer Interaction methods, theories, technologies, architectures, and environments that incorporate wearable and ambient sensors, responsive spaces, robots, and relational agents to promote creativity, teamwork, learning, health, and well-being. Affective Learning Companions, real-time multi-modal characters are beginning to sense and respond to learners’ affective cues. Game As Life is extending avant-garde “real-life games” and blurring motivations in everyday digital-physical-social environments. Astronaut Robot Mission Simulators and Pet-Building activities are promoting project based teams and education through novel Human-Robot Interactions. Creativity research methodologies and support tools are being advanced through empirical investigations in research organizations and everyday life experiences. Motivational Environments’ suite of technologies and activities is forming a framework and context to study and foster motivation and learning, health and well-being, teamwork and creativity.