Digital Humans

Digital Humans

Digital humans are a rising technology featuring realistic, digital people with highly customizable characteristics like language, voice, personality, facial features, and even body language. They are particularly adept at empathetic interactions. When speaking with a digital human, people will find the avatar interacts in a mood and tone similar to the person it is engaging with. For instance, when a person is excited, the digital human will display excited interest; conversely, when the person is very serious, the avatar will act similarly reserved. This type of reflective interaction can be especially useful when bias needs to be removed and objectivity is paramount.

Use cases for the technology span from clinical settings to improved online training. Dr. Kaysey Aguilar’s research examines the effectiveness of traditional online training versus online training enhanced with a digital person. Her study, which focused on ergonomic training for remote office workers, found statistically significant improvement in scores from those who received training from a digital human.

Dr. Aguilar is also interested in researching the technology for use in incident investigations. Digital humans are consistent and objective in asking investigative questions compared to humans. Additionally, the digital human reflects the tone and emotion of the person, empathetically engaging with them.

If you have a use case you’d like to investigate or if you have questions about digital human technology, contact Dr. Aguilar at kaysey_nicole@tamu.edu or 956.564.0304.