The PGx team have been hard at work developing immersive reality simulations that have potential to revolutionise how our learners practice and improve their communication skills. To achieve this, we’ve created interactive AI characters or ‘metahumans’ that are programmed with personalities, back-stories and health symptoms.

Our first prototype was designed for learners studying nursing, so they can practice their verbal communication skills as they interact with these metahumans, questioning, comforting and educating them about their illnesses and treatments. The virtual environment (the hospital), the appearance of the characters, their voices and backstories can all be easily changed and updated, making these types of conversational simulations applicable in a wide range of educational contexts, across many different disciplines.

We are continuing to improve our conversational AI model, so the language of the Metahumans becomes more realistic, and their personalities become increasingly dynamic and nuanced.

If you have questions about our prototype, or have ideas about this technology, comment below or feel free to reach out to the PGx team via: pgx@westernsydney.edu.au