Chat-Bot-Kit: A web-based tool to simulate text-based interactions between humans and with computers

Abstract

In this paper, we describe Chat-Bot-Kit, a web-based tool for text-based chats that we designed for research purposes in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Chat-Bot-Kit enables to carry out language studies on text-based real-time chats for the purpose of research: The generated messages are structured with language performance data such as pause and speed of keyboard-handling and the movement of the mouse. The tool provides two modes of chat communications - quasi-synchron and synchron modes - and various typing indicators. The tool is also designed to be used in wizard-of-oz studies in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and for the evaluation of chatbots (dialogue systems) in Natural Language Processing (NLP).