What happens when a museum visitor can ask a historical figure a question? Or when a student can explore a scientific concept through a conversation that follows their curiosity?
An Expert Avatar can create that kind of encounter. The character may represent a person from history or a specialist perspective, drawing on curated material to respond through speech, images, maps and other media. The experience can take place in a museum, a classroom, an immersive room or a digital setting.
Curating the conversation
The most important work takes place before the first conversation. Institutions define the persona’s scope, select and verify sources, decide how uncertainty should be handled and test the responses with different audiences. The avatar then becomes one way to explore the collection or subject, alongside the expertise of curators and educators.
Dialogue gives visitors an active role. They can ask a simple question, follow an unexpected connection or return to a topic in greater depth. The technology is useful when it helps them engage more closely with the knowledge the institution is there to share.