There is an apparent problem with children being abused in different ways in their everyday life and the lack of education related to these issues among working adults in the vicinity of these children, for example as social workers or teachers. There are formal courses in child interview training that teach participants how to talk to children in a correct manner. Avatar-mediation enables new methods of practicing this communication without having to involve a real child or role play face-to-face with another adult. In this study it was explored how a system could be designed in order to enable educational practice sessions where a child interview expert can be mediated through avatars in the form of virtual children. Prototypes were developed in order to evaluate the feasibility of the scenario regarding methods for controlling the avatar and how the avatar was perceived by the participants. It was found that there is a clear value in the educational approach of using avatar-mediation. From the perspective of the interactor it was found that using a circular radial interface for graphical representation of different emotions was possible to control a video-based avatar while simultaneously having a conversation with the participant. The results of the study include a proposed design of an interface, description of underlying system functionality and suggestions on how avatar behavior can be characterized in order to achieve a high level of presence for the participant.

This thesis expands on previous research and designs of avatar-based child interview training software. The goal of the thesis was to identify requirements, identify technologies and evaluate the likelihood of acceptance of a distribution ready software that would enhance role-play training exercises commonly used for child interview training. After identifying the requirements needed to create this type of application the needed technologies for solving those requirements were identified and one prototype and two production ready applications were developed. The production ready versions were distributed in an official capacity through AvBIT Labs Ab. Each version was evaluated using the technological acceptance model (TAM) in order to determine likelihood of acceptance in relevant industries. The TAM survey, USE survey and correspondence with experts were used to evaluate missing requirements and the likelihood of software acceptance. The research conducted in this thesis directly contributed to the founding of AvBIT Labs AB and the distribution of the AvBIT application to both governmental and non-governmental organizations, seeking to enhance their child interview training, throughout Europe.