Intelligent embodied agents are a powerful means of interacting with technology in a natural and engaging way. Our EMBOTS research group investigates three aspects in the field. First, we investigate techniques for automatically animating human motion in realtime. For this, we created the ANVIL multimodal annotation tool, develop the EMBR realtime animation system and participate in the BML standardization. Second, we explore techniques for controlling interactive embodied agents, combining rule-based and state-based approaches. Third, we develop an interactive tutoring application where user input is processed on both reactive and deliberative levels with instantaneous verbal and nonverbal feedback. Empirical user studies are planned to identify/validate added value effects resulting from the embodiment of the agent.