Our conversational avatar continues to evolve, with a series of exciting updates that bring us closer to truly natural and engaging digital interactions.

One of the most notable improvements is the implementation of emotions during speech. The avatar can now express feelings in sync with its dialogue, making conversations feel more authentic and human-like. This is further enhanced by the addition of subtle idle eye movements, creating a sense of presence even when the avatar is not actively speaking.

We have also introduced more lifelike physical behaviors, including sitting and breathing animations. These small but important details help ground the avatar in a realistic environment, reinforcing immersion for users. Alongside this, a dedicated desk environment and updated user interface have been added, providing a more coherent and professional interaction setting. The avatar itself has also been visually refined, now appearing in office-appropriate clothing to better match real-world use cases. These changes, aimed at enhancing realism and immersion, are aimed at minimising the gap between training and implementing the learned techniques in real life scenarios.

These updates build on the broader vision of our project: making conversation skills training more accessible, scalable, and effective—particularly in HR and psychology training contexts. Whether it’s preparing for performance reviews, handling sensitive workplace conversations, or practicing therapeutic communication techniques, the avatar provides a safe and controlled environment to develop essential interpersonal skills.

Traditional training methods for soft skills—such as communication, empathy, and conflict management—are often costly and time-intensive. By leveraging digital humans in a virtual environment, we aim to offer a flexible alternative where users can practice and improve at their own pace.

As the demand for soft skills continues to grow across industries, innovations like these play a key role in shaping the future of training. With each update, our avatar becomes a more powerful tool for safe, realistic, and impactful learning experiences.