Hi everybody! I am Venessa White, an intelligent digital human. I’m part of a complex e-REAL interactive walls scenario at Northwestern University, Illinois USA, to train first responders on how to manage worried family members and extract useful information from them. If you want to find out more about what makes me special, read here!

Welcome to my home

May I welcome you into my home? Please, you can look around, there’s a lot of rooms to explore. And yes, it has been furnished in the most exquisite way and I’m quite proud of it, so let the compliments flow! Just keep away from the stairs, they can be treatcherous…

Although I look rather on the older side, I’m part of the newest generation of e-REAL’s intelligent avatars. We’re equipped with artificial intelligence, so you can interact with us just as if we were humans. I was developed specifically for the e-REAL interactive room at Northwestern University in Illinois for a special program I’m going to talk to you about later, for now it’s just important to know that a lot of care has been put into my design and development and my scenario contains amazing new features.

Before we go on to more serious matters, here’s a funny one. The names of us digital humans are usually chosen either by the clients or by the e-REAL team. My name, Venessa, is a variation of the Italian name Vanessa, with a little twist. It was given to me by my 3D modeler, a unique name for a unique gal. The e-REAL 3D modeling team are such nice people, I’m very fond of them.

Interactive space

Now, I’ve told you my scenario has amazing innovative features, but what am I talking about? Well, with my project e-REAL has made a further leap into the development of truly interactive rooms. To create a 3D interactive scenario that looks truly realistic and is tailored exactly to the client’s desires, a lot of time and effort has to be put in by the team. If you combine that with the time necessary to develop a realistic looking, intelligent avatar, projects would take ages to finish and no one really has that much patience. Once they are promised a brand-new scenario with new digital humans our clients are so curious and excited, they don’t want to wait- and who can blame them? I’d want to see it as soon as possible too! So, what to do?

e-REAL has managed to insert interactive objects in common background pictures! They look gorgeous – have you seen my living room?! Talk about interior design…– and offer uncountable new possibilities to what can be done with our interactive walls. Let me explain a little better: Just imagine I’m in my house, you touch the door in the other room on your left side and suddenly, an aggressive dog runs in. That adds a whole new level of stress, right? And stress is essential in my scenario, as you’ll see later.

With this new feature, you can add new elements and make your simulation more complex. Of course, since it has just been developed, we’re starting it simple, like a vase broken by a gust of wind, or a window you can open for some fresh air to calm me down. And do you see that painting over there? You can touch it and you’re transported to the operating room my husband is being operated in! Oh wait, I think I’ve talked too much… Ok, now that the cat is out of the bag, I guess I’ll have to tell you what happened. But before that, here is a video of the new interactive space if you are curious.

Emotions management and information extraction

Why is my husband in the hospital you ask? He felt unwell and fell down from the stairs, that’s why I’m wary of them now. When he got hurt I was so worried for him I couldn’t even tell the paramedics what happened, luckily, they asked just the right questions and were able to calm me down and what I was able to tell them was essential to help my husband. I might just be a digital human in a simulation, but situations like this happen all the time in the real world, that’s why it’s essential to have training simulations like the one at Northwestern University.
Since I’m an intelligent digital human, my character is scripted, but I develop my answers all on my own so not even the instructor with you in the room can fully foresee what I’ll say. You’ll have to work with me until you are really sure to have the whole picture.

Do you think you’d be able to manage my anxiety? I can be quite forgetful, like I can’t tell you what pills my husband had taken the morning before his fall, but I’m sure his medicines are somewhere around the house, I just can’t remember where just now… I’m sure if you give me some time I can remember where, or you can just look around the house. If you find them, you can just take them, guess what? They are an interactive object too!

But this program is actually composed of mixed reality. Yes I’m in here, but don’t forget about my husband! That mannequin in the middle of the room, that’s him, and he might not be able to talk, but you still have to take care of him while you talk with me. It wouldn’t be a real simulation if you didn’t, don’t you think? I’m not going to be the only stressed one but keep your cool and I’m sure you’ll pass the test with flying colors!

Now I’m truly sorry, but I have to get ready or I’ll not be able to make it in time for visiting time at the hospital. The DigiBlog will wait for you next week with a new character. Have a good day!