MSNBC Features ICT Virtual Human Work Addressing PTSD

On their Big Idea segment, MSNBC interviewed Skip Rizzo and Gale Lucas about SimSensei, ICT’s virtual human based sensing system that tracks non-verbal behaviors and can detect signs of mental health distress.
“There are a lot of subtle parameters that really in depth psychologists are attuned to. We are trying to give the computer that kind of perceptual ability on a person,” said Rizzo.
Recent research, led by Lucas, suggests people are more comfortable opening up to a virtual human than a real one.
“They feel more comfortable and less likely to be judged and so they’ll share more personal information,” said Lucas
The Simsensei project is funded by DARPA. ICT’s virtual human development and evaluation is funded through the Army Research Lab.