Truth & Beauty Lab Answer Board

The latest creation from the Truth & Beauty Lab, the Answer Board, was released yesterday 18-March-2012. The Answer Board is a Pandorabot based rotating sign that provides answers to just about any question or topic one can think of. The board responds to local chat and provides its answers from, first, Wikipedia if it finds a matching article then Wolfram Alpha if no Wikipedia article is found then AI chat from pandorabots.com if no Wolfram Alpha answer is found.

The Answer Board is preconfigured and requires no setup other than rezzing, positioning, and resizing if desired. It uses a shared Wolfram Alpha Application ID which gives the board access to Wolfram Alpha but on a shared basis with a limit of 2000 queries per month. Therefore, it is recommended that the owner of an Answer Board register for their own Wolfram Alpha Application ID at http://products.wolframalpha.com/api/

Although ready to use out-of-the-box, the Answer Board can be extensively customized. A detailed Owners Manual is provided and available in PDF, Office, and OpenOffice formats. Non-owner users who touch the Answer Board receive a User Guide which is also available in PDF, Office, and OpenOffice formats.

The Answer Board can provide information on just about any topic due to the wealth of information available via the combined resources of Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha. Based on the recently released Pandorabot V7 technology, the Answer Board can automatically detect the user's language and query that language Wikipedia. Language detection is provided for Nihongo, Russkiy, Nederlands, Português, Polski, Italiano, Español, Français, Deutsch or English. It is the smartest scripted agent in Second Life.

In addition, the Answer Board can be enabled as a Greeter to detect and greet new arrivals, deliver notecards and landmarks, and emit a wide variety of particle displays. There is an extensive command set available to the owner and an easy to use dialog menu. The Answer Board is available for L$395 on the Second Life Marketplace at https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Truth-Beauty-Lab-Answer-Board/3304679

Here's what the Answer Board looks like:

New Truth & Beauty Lab Products 2/2012

The Truth & Beauty Lab (formerly Restless Studio) would like to inform you of some new products that may be useful, interesting, fun, entertaining, or otherwise of value.

Smart Rings and Smart Cuffs - http://bit.ly/y1hNrX

Stylishly textured in gold or silver, this line of single sculpted prim Smart Jewelry from the Truth & Beauty Lab can query Wikipedia, provide answers from Wolfram Alpha, emit a wide variety of particle displays, animate your avatar during particle displays, scan the area for objects and avatars, and target an object or avatar with a particle beam. One advantage of owning a Smart Ring or Smart Cuff is that, since the items are worn as attachments, you can travel anywhere on the grid and your Pandorabot featured ring or cuff is there to command.

Menhir Internationalized Pandorbots - http://bit.ly/ysFh7w

The Menhir Pandorabot is a single prim object shaped and textured as a Menhir ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menhir ). Menhir Pandorabots are scripted to include all the features of the Truth & Beauty Lab Pandorabots and the textured single sculpted prim provides a realistic recreation of a Menhir. Preconfigured Menhir language versions are available in English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Polski, and Português. The language configured Menhir will query the Wikipedia in that language, understanding that language chat and responding in that language when possible.

Smart Dance Pole & Smart Tip Jar Combo Pack - http://bit.ly/rMzxle

Automatically login an avatar and have it automatically start pole dancing, chatting, quoting Wikipedia, greeting new arrivals, delivering notecards and landmarks, monitoring and responding to group chat, and more. A super smart pole dance bot! The Truth & Beauty Lab Smart Dance Pole is scripted with the Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On and configured for use as a dance pole. It is an artificially intelligent dance pole and integrates with the Smart Tip Jar, accepting tips, triggering a pole dancing bot to undress, emote, change outfits, and interact with your visitors. Using an integrated Smart Dance Pole and Smart Tip Jar allows you to maintain an artificially intelligent pole dancing bot avatar who accepts tips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year round without monthly fees or hourly charges. The Smart Tip Jar can automatically trigger your dance pole bot avatar to undress when a tip threshold is reached and get dressed after a specified duration. NOTE: The Smart Tip Jar splits all tips - 90% going to the owner and 10% going to the Truth & Beauty Lab.

T3-M4 Scanning Follower Droid - http://bit.ly/zj69hQ

The Truth & Beauty Lab T3-M4 Scanning Follower will follow its owner at a configurable offset and can be controlled via a dialog menu interface. Included in its features is the ability to scan the area for objects and avatars then assemble and display a report which includes statistics on the resource consumption of the detected objects and avatars. The T3-M4 Scanning Follower can fire a laser at selected avatars or detected objects/avatars from one of its scans. It also makes cute bot sounds. The boxed product includes preconfigured Scanning Followers - two T3-M4 Astromech Droids. The droids are a realistic reconstruction of the T3-M4 from the Old Republic Star Wars era. The T3-M4 Scanning Follower integrates with the Truth & Beauty Lab Pandorabots so versions of it that chat, query Wikipedia, supply answers from Wolfram Alpha, greet arrivals, etc are also available in the marketplace store. A single prim Eye Candy Scanning Follower is also available for those who prefer to conserve resources and display cool visuals while providing identical functionality as the 39 prim T3-M4 Scanning Follower.

Particle Textures Display Heart - http://bit.ly/y0Fyaa

This single prim sculpted heart rotates, emits particle displays using the particle textures in its contents, and accepts new particle textures allowing you to view your particle displays easily and quickly. The prim cycles through whatever particle textures are in its contents. Clicking the heart prim steps to the next particle texture.

Truth & Beauty Lab Heart Follower - http://bit.ly/y4rPKK

This single prim sculpted heart rotates, follows its owner at a specified offset, changes textures, emits particle displays, and can be used to scan the area for objects and avatars producing a complete detailed report.

Second Life Haiku Generator - http://bit.ly/AjiqZ9

Rez this portrait of Basho, the famous Japanese haiku poet, and click it to get an automatically generated Second Life related haiku. Each time the portrait is clicked a different Second Life related haiku will be generated. The large collection of words and phrases used to construct the haikus is constantly growing and the haikus are generated on a server so you never have to update the inworld object.

The Truth & Beauty Lab Marketplace - http://bit.ly/xaFZ92

Many more new, entertaining, informative, useful, fun, and interesting products are available at the Truth & Beauty Lab Marketplace. Please visit https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/44210 and browse the shop.

Feedback

Do you have suggestions, requests, comments, criticism, kudos, testimonials, funny stories, etc. concerning any of the Truth & Beauty Lab products? Email missyrestless@gmail.com or IM Missy Restless and let me know what you think. I'm always happy to help if I can and many products ideas and improvements have originated with suggestions and requests from clients & casual encounters.

Pandorabots Can Now Query Wolfram Alpha

The latest major upgrade to all Pandorabots includes support for Wolfram Alpha queries. Wolfram Alpha, created by Wolfram Research, is the world's most sophisticated answer engine. The combination of Wikipedia query, Wolfram Alpha query, and custom AIML responses from pandorabots.com make Pandorabots the smartest scripted agents in Second Life. Or anywhere, for that matter.

Wolfram Alpha query support has been added to all Pandorabots including the Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On, Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On, Restless Studio Smart Dance Pole, Inner Spheres, Pandorabot V5, and Subgenius Pandorabot.

To trigger a Wolfram Alpha query simply preface your local chat with one of the trigger phrases setup in the Configuration notecard. By default the Wolfram Alpha trigger phrases are "wolfram", "alpha", and "wolfram alpha". So, for example, chatting "wolfram what is the cube root of 387" would get a response from your Pandorabot:

Input :
387^(1/3)

Exact result :
3^(2/3) 43^(1/3)

Decimal approximation :
7.2873616311218428454286590881202865642949650868366337582348...

Continued fraction :
[7; 3, 2, 11, 1, 23, 1, 27, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 1, 28, 1, 47, 1, 5, 1, 3, 25, 5, 3, 1, ...]

Initially the Pandorabot is configured to use a shared demonstration Wolfram Alpha application ID limited to 2000 queries per month. Configure your Pandorabot with a unique application ID obtained by registering at http://products.wolframalpha.com/api . Edit the Configuration notecard and set ALPHA_APP_ID  to your App ID.

How to Configure a Non-English Second Life Pandorabot

I receive frequent requests from Pandorabot owners asking me how they can get their Pandorabot to respond in a non-English language. The default behavior of all Pandorabots including the Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On, Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On, Smart Dance Pole, Inner Spheres, and Pandorabot V5 is to look for trigger phrases in English and respond in English. Some default responses are non-English where translations have been provided in the Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) the Pandorabot is using at pandorabots.com. Here's how you can configure your Pandorabot to recognize non-English trigger phrases and respond in a non-English language.

The following settings in the Configuration notecard control language preferences in Pandorabots:


Quick & Easy

Edit the Configuration notecard in your Pandorabot and add the following two lines to the top of the notecard:

    LANG_CODE = xx
    WIKIPEDIA_TRIGGERS =what is ,?,what's ,?,what're ,?,what is a ,?,what is an ,?,what is the ,?,what are the ,?,what's a ,?,what's an ,?,who is,?,who are,?,who're,?,who's,?,,?

Where "xx" is one of the 2 letter language codes from the "Wiki" column in the table at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wikipedias

More Difficult

Add translations of the Wikipedia triggers in the language you prefer. For example, to configure your Pandorabot to query the French Wikipedia when it detects "who is", "what is", or "who are" in French spoken in local chat, set the following:

    LANG_CODE = fr
    WIKIPEDIA_TRIGGERS =what is ,?,what's ,?,what're ,?,what is a ,?,what is an ,?,what is the ,?,what are the ,?,what's a ,?,what's an ,?,who is,?,who are,?,who're,?,who's,?,ce qui est ,?,qui est ,?,qui sont ,?,,?

Similarly, add translations for the EMAIL_TRIGGERS, SPELL_TRIGGERS, and SHUTOFF_TRIGGERS

Detailed & Thorough

Edit the Configuration notecard in your Pandorabot and modify the following notecard settings:

LANG_CODE
Use one of the 2 letter codes from the "Wiki" column in the table at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_Wikipedias
For instance, to query the Italian Wikipedia, set
    LANG_CODE = it
If no Wikipedia article exists for your query in the preferred language then the Pandorabot will try the English Wikipedia.

LANG_CODES
A list of 2 letter language codes which will be selectable via the Pandorabot dialog menu.

LANG_NAMES
A list of language names that correspond to the LANG_CODES list. This is what will be displayed in the Pandorbot dialog menu buttons.

UNWIKIABLE_PHRASES
This is a list of phrases which should not be passed to Wikipedia. To accomodate non-English speaking guests, you can translate these phrases into your guests' language(s) and either replace or add to the list.

WIKIPEDIA_TRIGGERS
These phrases trigger a Wikipedia query. Add to this list similar phrases in the language(s) your guests will be using. Alternatively, to force every message the Pandorabot hears to Wikipedia, add an empty string to the list of triggers. For example:

        WIKIPEDIA_TRIGGERS =what is ,?,what's ,?,what're ,?,what is a ,?,what is an ,?,what is the ,?,what are the ,?,what's a ,?,what's an ,?,who is,?,who are,?,who're,?,who's,?,ce qui est ,?,qui est ,?,qui sont ,?,,?

ALPHA_TRIGGERS
These phrases indicate the resident wishes to query Wolfram Alpha for a factual answer. The default Wolfram Alpha triggers are “wolfram alpha”, “wolfram “, and “alpha “. For example, to ask Wolfram Alpha for the cube root of 387 you could say “wolfram what is the cube root of 387”. If you wish to provide Wolfram Alpha triggers in another language, add them to this list.

EMAIL_TRIGGERS
These phrases indicate the resident wishes to send email. Add to this list similar phrases in the language(s) your guests will be using.

SPELL_TRIGGERS
These phrases indicate the resident wishes to check the spelling of a word. Add to this list similar phrases in the language(s) your guests will use.

SHUTOFF_TRIGGERS
These phrases will shut the Pandorabot off until touched. By default the Pandorabot will stop responding when it hears either “Be quiet” or “Shut up” in local chat. Add to this list similar phrases in the language(s) your guests will be using.

Greeting New Arrivals

To set the greeting issued to new arrivals, edit the Greeter_Config notecard and set the GREET_1, GREET_2, GREET_3, and GREET_4 variables with a welcome message in the language of your preference.

Custom Language AIML

Many of the Pandorabot responses are generated with the Artificial Intelligence Markup Language (AIML) at pandorabots.com. Even with all of the above settings configured for a non-English language the Pandorabot will still draw some responses from either the English language Wikipedia, Wolfram Alpha, or the AIML responses at pandorabots.com. Many of the responses at pandorabots.com have been translated into German and French. However, most are English only.

To provide for non-English pandorabots.com responses it will either be necessary to translate the existing default AIML or create a custom set of AIML files in the preferred language. If you have a custom set of AIML files already prepared and used by a public Pandorabot at pandorabots.com then you can configure your Second Life Pandorabot to use that AIML by setting
    BOT_ID = that-pandorabots-id
in the Configuration notecard.

Setup a Pole Dance Bot with the Newly Released Smart Dance Pole

I recently modified the Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On and integrated it into a dance pole I created. I released this as the Restless Studio Smart Dance Pole, available on the Second Life Marketplace. Using the smart dance pole you can easily setup a pole dance bot.

Setup steps are detailed in the Restless Studio Dance Pole Manual. To setup your Restless Studio Smart Dance Pole for use with a METAbolt avatar:

1. Create a Second Life account with Scripted Agent Status set to bot 
2. Install METAbolt on a Windows computer and enable Auto Sit 
3. Drag the Restless Studio Smart Dance Pole from your inventory to the desired location 
4. Right click the pole and select "Edit"; Click the "Contents" tab of the edit window
5. Edit the Configuration notecard and set FIRST_NAME and LAST_NAME 
6. Drag desired animations from your inventory into the dance pole Contents 
7. Set the "Description" field of the dance pole to your dance bot avatar's Key 
8. Place your dance pole bot avatar within 10 meters of the pole 
9. Login your dance pole bot with METAbolt

This allows you to have a dancer on her pole in your club 24/7. Since the smart dance pole is a Pandorabot, it can chat with your guests, query Wikipedia, send email, check spelling, greet new arrivals, deliver notecards and landmarks, and all the other features of a standard Pandorabot. All for L$395.

I Just Want a Greeter - What are my Options?

One common question I get goes something like:

"I'm searching for a bot who welcomes my guests and talks to them. Must my pc be running all the time with the viewer open ? Or do you use your own software ? Is the Bot always logged in ?"

Pandorabots come in several styles all of which can be used as greeters, provide artificially intelligent chat, query Wikipedia, deliver notecards/landmarks, and more. Your options for setting up a Pandorabot greeter/conversationalist include the following:

1. The 2-D Pandorabot V5 is basically a texture applied to a scripted object. The 2-D Pandorabot V5 does not need a viewer running nor is it logged in to Second Life - it is simply an object that is rezzed at your store or home. It can be configured as a greeter, chats, queries Wikipedia, spell check, and other features you expect from a Pandorabot. However, it is a static two dimensional cutout and is not as realistic as the other Pandorabots.
2. A 3-D sculpted Pandorabot V5 is similar to the 2-D Pandorabot V5 but is a sculpted object made to resemble a parrot. It can be rezzed in place or worn. It is a static three dimensional sculpted prim and does not require a viewer nor is it logged into SL.
3. An animated 3-D shape and particle display that contains a Pandorabot V5. Similar to both of the above, the Inner Spheres Pandorabot is a rezzed object, does not need a viewer, and does not need to be logged into SL. It is a rotating set of geometric shapes and particle displays - intelligent eye candy!
4. A 3-D animated avatar Pandorabot is the most sophisticated of the Pandorabots. These require a viewer and must be logged into Second Life just like any avatar. They provide a realistic animated avatar and, in some ways, are indistinguishable from a "real" person :) They use a thin text client as viewer so they consume very little computer resources. The viewer can be left running and minimized without undue strain on a normal system. The 3-D animated avatar Pandorabot must be logged in to be visible. They come in two varieties - the Actorbot Add-On and the METAbolt Add-On. I prefer and recommend the METAbolt Add-On as it is lighter weight, in active development, and supports the physics layer. Both are Windows only clients.

The prices for the models of Pandorabot described above are:

• 2-D Pandorabot V5 is L$245
• 3-D sculpted Pandorabot V5 is L$245
• 3-D Inner Spheres Pandorabot is L$245
• 3-D animated avatar Pandorabot is L$395

All are available on the Second Life Marketplace at http://tinyurl.com/3goercp

Pandorabot vs Actorbot vs METAbolt - Which Bot to Buy ?

People seem to often be confused about which of the Restless Studio Pandorabots to purchase. I am frequently asked which one best suits their needs and what is the difference between them. I'll try to provide a brief overview of the differences between the various models and a capsule feature review.

All of the Pandorabot models provide an artificial intelligent chat, Wikipedia query, greeter, notecard/landmark dispenser, spell check, email, group invites, speech synthesis, and dialog menu interface.

The simplest Pandorabot is the Pandorabot V5 which comes in a variety of appearances. In addition to the male, female, and Steven Colbert / Bob Dobbs two dimensional textured cutouts there is also a 3D sculpted parrot either perching on a stand or worn on the owner's shoulder. The 2D cutout Pandorabots are really all the same and each can be configured to appear as male, female, rotating Bob/Steven head, parrot, or any texture you add to the contents. The 3D sculpted parrot can only be configured to appear as the sculpted object either perched or worn.

The Inner Spheres Pandorabot includes the same scripts and functionality as the Pandorabot V5 but appears as rotating changing textured geometric shapes that emit a variety of particle displays. This is intended to serve as an art display or club entertainment as well as provide the standard AI chat and Wikipedia query features of the Pandorabot V5. The Inner Spheres Pandorabot can also be worn and you can configure it to appear as your avatar.

The Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On and Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On are 3D animated Pandorabots that appear as an avatar and provide all of the Pandorabot features as well as the ability to cycle through dances and stand animations. Whereas the Pandorabot V5 and Inner Spheres Pandorabot are prims that you rez, the Actorbot and METAbolt Pandorabots are actual Second Life avatars that are automatically logged into Second Life via a free desktop client that you run or (in the case of the Actorbot) via a server that you pay for by the hour (5L per hour per Actorbot).

It can be difficult to choose between the Actorbot and METAbolt Pandorabots. The differences and features of each make them well suited for a variety of deployments. I'll try to review each briefly to give you an idea of which might be better suited for your needs.

Actorbots can be programmed to perform specific actions when a given trigger condition is met. For instance, if an Actorbot is paid 250L that could trigger an action. Actions can be any one of instant message, chat, send group invitation, give object, wear outfit, play animation, stop animation, or sit on prim. The Actorbot Pandorabot is more programmable and scriptable than the METAbolt Pandorabot. On the other hand, the METAbolt Pandorabot utilizes an extremely lightweight desktop client that can run as many bots as you like. The Actorbot desktop client is limited to three free Actorbots, does not have near the features of the METAbolt client, and is somewhat more resource intensive. If you want to "drive" your bot via your desktop then the METAbolt Pandorabot is better equipped and really quite feature full.

Use the Inner Spheres Pandorabot as an Avatar

The Inner Spheres Pandorabot, a set of rotating geometric objects, can be worn as an attachment. In fact, using the alpha mask feature of the appearance editor, you can make your avatar invisible and wear the Inner Spheres Pandorabot. In this way you appear to be rotating cool objects emitting particles!

First, edit your appearance (Edit -> Appearance). Save your current appearance in case you want to restore it later by clicking the "Save As" button and giving it a name. Click the Alpha tab. Check all of the Alpha boxes (Head Alpha, Upper Alpha, Lower Alpha, Hair Alpha, and Eye Alpha). Click "Save As" and save your invisible appearance.

Click "OK" and exit the appearance editor. You should now appear invisible except for any attachments you may be wearing. Remove all attachments. I even detach my AO as an invisible avatar really doesn't need an AO.

Locate the Inner Spheres Pandorabot in your inventory. Right click on the Inner Spheres Pandorabot and select "Attach to -> Spine" (or another attachment point if spine is in use). You should appear as rotating geometric objects and respond as a Pandorabot.

The most common problem with wearing a Pandorabot as an attachment is the use of the greeter when teleporting to other locations. I recommend turning the greeter off or minimalizing your greeting. To configure the greeter and a few other things to tailor your Pandorabot as an attachment you will need to edit your configuration notecards.

Right click the Inner Spheres Pandorabot you are wearing and select "Edit". In the Contents tab of the edit window find the Configuration notecard. Right click the Configuration notecard and select "Open". Add the following lines to the top of the Configuration notecard:

FIRST_NAME = <your avatar's first name>
LAST_NAME = <your avatar's last name>
NAME_ENABLED = TRUE
TEXT_ENABLED = FALSE
RESTRICTED_ACCESS = 1
HOVER_ENABLED = FALSE
GREET_ENABLED = FALSE
AI_ENABLED = FALSE

Save your changes and close the edit window. Some of the above are only suggestions based on my experience using Inner Spheres as my avatar appearance. I like to set NAME_ENABLED = TRUE because then the Pandorabot will only respond when either my first or last name is used in local chat. Otherwise it responds to all local chat and that can be annoying. Since I will be teleporting to other locations I turn the greeter off. Use your own judgment.

If you wish to leave your greeter on but fine tune it's behavior, set GREET_ENABLED = TRUE in the Configuration notecard and edit the greeter configuration notecard Greeter_Config. Several parameters allow you to adjust your greeter in the following ways:

If you wish to send new arrivals an Instant Message greeting, set
GREET_ENABLED = TRUE
Otherwise, set GREET_ENABLED = FALSE

If you wish to give new arrivals a landmark, set
GIVE_LANDMARK = TRUE
Otherwise, set GREET_ENABLED = FALSE

If you wish to give new arrivals a notecard, set
GIVE_NOTECARD = TRUE
Otherwise, set GREET_ENABLED = FALSE

If you wish to give new arrivals the named notecard NOTE_NAME,
GIVE_NAMED_NOTECARD = TRUE
Otherwise, set GREET_ENABLED = FALSE

I also like to edit the Inner_Config notecard and set:

SOUND_ON = FALSE

Finally, I edit the Inner Spheres Pandorabot and position it a little higher so the rotating prims don't go underground and the whole assembly appears to float slightly above my head. This way I can wear a cape or hat or other attachments and it will look like the invisible caped person with rotating geometric objects floating over her head is present.

Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On Released

Pandorabot V5 is now integrated with METAbolt to provide a realistic 3D animated bot avatar that can chat, greet new arrivals, query Wikipedia, check spelling, send email, deliver notecards & landmarks, and issue group invitations. The Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On can significantly enhance a METAbolt bot providing the many features of the Pandorabot V5 as well as a graphical dialog menu your guests can use to interact with your METAbolt bot.

The Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On is available on the Second Life Marketplace for L$395.

Steps required to setup an integrated METAbolt/Pandorabot:

1. Purchase one Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On for each of your METAbolt bots
2. Create a Second Life account with Scripted Agent Status set to bot (create one account for each METAbolt bot you want to run)
3. Install METAbolt and enable Auto Sit
4. Rez the Pandorabot METAbolt Base Prim and edit configuration notecards
5. Edit the Pandorabot METAbolt Base Prim description field
6. Copy desired animations into METAbolt base prim
7. Reset scripts
8. Login your METAbolt bot

Setup is detailed in the Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On Manual

 

Pandorabot METAbolt Add-On and Restless Studio are not associated to or sponsored by METAbolt (http://www.metabolt.net).

Pandorabot & Actorbot Add-On V5 Released

The new improved Pandorabot V5 and associated Actorbot Add-On and Add-On Lite were released today January 3, 2011. Available on the Second Life Marketplace at http://tinyurl.com/26vjryb these updates include many new features as well as bug fixes and performance enhancements. The updated V5 manuals are available in OpenOffice and PDF format at http://www.scribd.com/missyrestless

Owners of the Pandorabot V4 and earlier can upgrade freely to Pandorabot V5. Upgrade instructions are detailed in a separate post.

Enjoy!

Pandorabot Actorbot Design Diagram

Pandorabot Actorbot Setup

Restless Studio Pandorabot V4 and later can be integrated with an Actorbot from Sine Wave to provide a realistic 3D animated bot avatar. To do so requires combining scripts from both the Actorbot and Pandorabot, add-on integration scripts, configuration notecards, and desired animations into a reconfigured Actorbot base prim.

Steps required to setup an integrated Actorbot/Pandorabot:

1. Purchase the Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On
2. Create a "Scripted Agent" Second Life account
3. Create an Actorbot account at http://www.sinewaverobots.com
4. Create as many Actorbots as you need
5. Delete Actorbot Dance Script from Actorbot base prim
6. Copy animations, scripts, & notecards into Actorbot prim
7. Edit configuration notecards
8. Recompile and reset scripts
9. Start the Actorbot(s)

Additional Actorbot/Pandorabot integration can be performed via the “Advanced settings” of the Actorbot at the Sine Wave website. This and details of the steps above will be covered below.

PURCHASE PANDORABOT ACTORBOT ADD-ONS (step 1)

Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On packages can be purchased on the Second Life Marketplace. Search the marketplace for “Pandorabot Actorbot”. You will need one Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On for each Actorbot you wish to enhance. Unpack the boxed product and copy the items to your inventory. They will be in a new folder “Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On”. You can delete the box once the items have been copied to your inventory.

NOTE: If you already own a Pandorabot V4 or later you can purchase the Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On Lite.

CREATE A SECOND LIFE “ALT” ACCOUNT (step 2)

Visit http://secondlife.com/ , click the “Join Now” button and follow the same procedure you used to create your original Second Life account only with a different user name and setting the Scripted Agent Status to bot. If you wish to fix your newly created alt up a bit before deploying as an Actorbot, login to Second Life as your alt and modify appearance, clothing, etc as desired.

You may also wish to create a few clothing folders with everything you want your Actorbot wearing (including attachments like hair, shoes, facelight, …). Create these in the system “Clothing” folder as subfolders. Later you will be able to program your Actorbot to change outfits. You may prefer to defer this portion of the setup until after you have played around with your Actorbot a little.

CREATE AN ACTORBOT ACCOUNT (step 3)

Visit http://www.sinewaverobots.com/ and click “Sign up”. On the first page enter your primary Second Life avatar name (not the alt account you created in step 2). Next choose a Sine Wave Actorbot user name and password. Agree to the Terms of Service and click “Sign Up”.

CREATE ACTORBOT(S) (step 4)

Once you have completed the account activation process, create a new Actorbot by logging into your Sine Wave account and clicking “NEW ACTORBOT”. This time the “Avatar name” should be one of the alt accounts you created in step 2. If your alt was created with the new Second Life username and no last name then use “Resident” as the last name. Login to Second Life with your primary account (the account with which you created your Sine Wave account, not the alt accounts) and activate your Actorbot inworld at Sine Wave Island . A tutorial video on the activation process is available at the Sine Wave website . Once you have received the Actorbot Base Prim from Sine Wave Island select a location for your Actorbot and rez the prim there.

PREPARE THE ACTORBOT BASE PRIM (step 5)

The Actorbot base prim you received when you activated your Actorbot inworld contains a dance script template that doesn't really do much. The Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On provides significantly enhanced animation capabilities. Delete the Sine Wave dance script and edit the base prim description field:

Right click the Actorbot base prim and select “Edit”.
In the General tab:

• Replace the Description field with the name of the alt account you wish to use for this Actorbot

In the Contents tab:

• Delete the Actorbot Dance Script

POPULATE THE ACTORBOT BASE PRIM (step 6)

Drag the following from your Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On folder in your inventory into the base prim contents:

• Actorabot
• Actorabot_Config
• pandorabot
• Configuration
• webservices
• Demonstration Pandorabot at Restless Studio
• _Pandorabots Info
• Pandorabots User Guide
• Pandorabots Owner Manual
• Greeter
• Copyright

If you want your Actorbot to dance and/or utilize stand animations, drag whatever and as many animations as you like into the base prim contents. In order for the preconfigured dance and stand commands to function properly the dances must contain the string “dance” in their name and the stands must contain the string “stand” in their name. In both instances the strings “dance” and “stand” are case insensitive.

EDIT CONFIGURATION NOTECARDS (step 7)

There should now be two configuration notecards in the Actorbot base prim – Actorabot_Config, the Actorabot script configuration card, and Configuration, the Pandorabot configuration notecard. The Actorabot_Config notecard can be edited to configure the default settings for the chat channel, duration of each animation, dance only mode, and stand only mode. The factory defaults should suffice for most deployments – chat channel 25, animation duration of 120 seconds, both dance and stand mode.

Consult the Pandorabots Owner Manual for the extensive Pandorabot configuration defaults that can be set by editing the Pandorabot Configuration notecard. When running a Pandorabot in an Actorbot the following settings are recommended:
        FIRST_NAME = Your bot's first name
        LAST_NAME = Your bot's last name
        TEXT_ENABLED = FALSE
        OWNER_SHUTDOWN_ONLY = TRUE
        HOVER_ENABLED = FALSE

RECOMPILE AND RESET THE SCRIPTS (step 8)

Once you have finished editing the notecards, while still editing the Actorbot base prim, select from the viewer menu:
       Tools → Recompile Scripts in Selection → Mono
When this completes, click “Done” closing the recompile window. While still in edit mode select from the viewer menu:
       Tools → Reset Scripts in Selection
You should see the following messages in local chat:
        The target has been set up successfully.
        Pandorabot ready to chat!
You can now close the base prim edit window.

START THE ACTORBOT(S) (step 9)

Return to the Sine Wave website and login. Click on “MY ACTORBOTS” and click on the Actorbot you want to start. Prior to starting the Actorbot you may wish to configure it with the Actorabot Starter template. To do so, click on “Advanced settings” then click on “Import Template”. Check the box next to the “Actorabot Starter” template by Missy Restless and click “Ok”. This configures your Actorbot to respond to a few IM commands. If someone sends an Instant Message to your Actorbot the following will occur:

    “Help” → the Actorbot will IM back a help message
    “Dance” → the Actorbot will enter dance only mode
    “Stand” → the Actorbot will enter stand only mode
    “Both” → the Actorbot will enter combined stand/dance mode

Once you have configured the advanced settings you can start the Actorbot. Simply click “Start the Actorbot”. Repeat for any other Actorbots you wish to start. Return to Second Life and verify that your Actorbot has logged in and is responding to chat, dancing, standing, or whatever you have it configured to do. To verify the Actorbot is functioning as a Pandorabot, while standing within 20 meters of your Actorbot say in local chat “what is phi ?” and the bot should respond with the Wikipedia summary paragraph from the article on Phi. Note, if you have previously configured NAME_ENABLED = TRUE then you will have to say “<first name of bot>, what is phi ?”. To verify the advanced settings took effect, IM your bot and say “Help”.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Pandorabot Actorbot Add-On Manual, Pandorabots Owner Manual, and Pandorabots User Guide are available in PDF format at http://www.scribd.com/missyrestless

View and interact with the Restless Studio Actorabot integrated Pandorabots at:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gualdo/210/226/42/
and
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gualdo/204/224/43 (mature).

Watch a short video of a dancing Pandorabot Actorbot.

Have fun and email missyrestless@gmail.com with any questions, comments, suggestions, requests for custom configurations.

View other Restless Studio creations in the Second Life Marketplace at http://tinyurl.com/2bq6o3p

What is a Pandorabot ?

A Pandorabot is a scripted Second Life object that responds to local chat, greets new arrivals, and can be used to deliver notecards and landmarks. Depending on the phrase, a Pandorabot will query Wikipedia for an appropriate response, use its AIML programmed context sensitive artificial intelligence, check your spelling using Yahoo's spellcheck API, or send an email to any specified email address. Pandorabots can also be used to greet new arrivals and send notecards and landmarks, as well as answer questions.

Pandorabots can be on hand to greet and inform or entertain guests on your parcel even when you are offline. A properly customized Pandorabot can act effectively as a personal or business assistant, directing and informing your visitors to products, services, or personal whereabouts. Once deployed a Pandorabot is not a static feature of the parcel but continues to evolve as responses to additional matching words, phrases, questions, and comments
are programmed or learned.

Restless Studio Pandorabots are preconfigured to query Wikipedia for responses making the Pandorabot the smartest robot in Second Life. The Pandorabot is the only chat bot in Second Life that supports multiple bot deployment. That is, you can place two or more Pandorabots in your store (e.g. each responding to queries for a particular product or service) and they will ignore each other avoiding the infinite chat loop other chat bots enter. Pandorabots can also be used to check spelling, deliver notecards/landmarks, or greet new arrivals.

Pandorabots are available in female and male human form, wearable parrot or bear, rotating head with the face of Bob Dobbs & Steven Colbert, or a 3D sculpted perched parrot. Pandorabot V3 can also be configured to speak using either male or female speech synthesis.

The Pandorabot V4 can integrate with a Sine Wave Actorbot to provide a realistic animated interactive 3D bot avatar. See "How to Setup a Pandorabot Actorbot" for details.

Restless Studio Pandorabots are available on the Second Life Marketplace. Detailed information on configuration and use is available in either PDF or OpenDocument format documentation.