How we represent ourselves online is hugely important. While in the past we used photos and avatars, today we are creating virtual humans.

What do they look like? Are they caricatures or more advanced moving video representations of real selves? Could they develop further with AI and operate independently without us?

Principal Investigator Rachel McDonnell is an expert in this area at the Adapt Centre and has been making amazing progress with virtual human technology. She explains what they are, how they work and the potential to develop in the future. She has a real passion for how our virtual humans live and interact with others online and shares some of the gigantic improvements of recent years.

TOPICS WE DISCUSSED INCLUDE

• What are virtual humans
• Where you have seen them before but never knew
• The pros and cons of virtual humans
• How we are combatting ‘uncanny valley theory’
• The acceptance and believability rates of virtual humans
• When will we start attending VR meetings
• The ethics of how far should we go with virtual humans
• Problems to overcome with Augmented Reality situations
• Why the future is now for the Adapt Team
• Your listener questions

GUEST DETAILS
Rachel McDonnell is an Associate Professor in Creative Technologies at the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College Dublin.

She is also a Principal Investigator in the ADAPT Research Centre and a member of the Graphics, Vision, and Visualisation Group.
Her research projects and interests include computer graphics, character animation, virtual humans, VR, and perception, with a focus on real-time performance capture and perception of virtual humans.

Trinity College - https://www.scss.tcd.ie/Rachel.McDonnell/index.shtml
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-mcdonnell-10552b155/

YOUR HOST
Marie Boran is a PhD candidate and third level lecturer in the area of science, technology & society. Her passion is emerging technologies and as a writer has been covering the technology sector for almost 15 years. She was Irish Science Writer of the Year in 2018 and Technology Reporter of the Year in 2016.

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mboran/

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