Meet Tia, professional virtual bot

Tia is Cranial Tap's virtual receptionist. She works purely in Second Life at the Cranial Tap virtual headquarters on the Cortex region. Her role is to greet visitors as they enter the building to learn more about our company. Virtual computer driven characters work tirelessly around the clock and have no need to call in sick. While today, they cannot replace humans, they do serve a valuable purpose.

Computer driven characters, or bots, serve many purposes in virtual environments today. Aside from the ability to greet humans in personalized ways, bots also provide information, host virtual tours and even relay communications. Backed by an artificial intelligence engine, Tia's abilities are supported by nearly half a million lines of dialog. On a regular basis, our team sorts through captured dialog sessions to identify communication areas that require improvement. This process helps to make future discussions with humans more effective.

You can visit Tia and chat with her using the following SLurl: slurl.com/secondlife/Cortex/27/231/56. A Second Life account is required to visit this location. Upon entering, she will greet you and ask how she may help. Using Chat, you can ask Tia a wide range of questions and she'll do her best to respond in an appropriate manner. She will ask for clarification should she not understand something. She even tells a joke or two upon request.

Computer driven bots can take many forms. Some feature a humanoid appearance while others may be machinery, animals or simply a presence. Offering the ability to interact, educate, provide presence and even train, bots are taking on serious roles in the virtual world realm. Whatever form they take, their effectiveness is seen in terms of trainee satisfaction and the ability to communicate using free-form discussion.

Virtual bots can be embedded into 3D learning and training environments to represent humans that role play in specific situations. A cast of characters can be used to replicate, or re-enact, real life situations. In doing so, an actual staff is not required in support. Trainees gain exposure to highly engaging online scenarios without traveling and risking costly new hire mistakes. Using virtual environments allow trainees to gain familiarity with work processes in complete safety.

Simulated humans can provide walking tours of 3D online spaces. Learning stations can be explored by groups of students or trainees to become familiar with real life environments. These environments can be open around the clock and accessible from anywhere in the world. Providing early access to simulated situations is an effective way to introduce associates to new concepts and surroundings.

The new hire demographic today is often associated with the Millennial generation. Some of our clients pursue use of virtual world environments not only for the inherent benefits, but to draw the attention of this demographic. This younger generation class has grown up alongside the use of technology, gaming and different lifestyles.

Cranial Tap, a virtual world developer, offers many types computer driven bots to meet nearly any learning and training need. Visit our Contact page to ask us how we can reduce your training costs while making them more effective.