© 2025 by Svenja Kastner.
Intelligent Virtual Lab Assistant
Development & Interactive Design Project
Goal: The goal of the Intelligent Virtual Lab Assistant project was to create a more engaging and interactive virtual assistant named Camila. When there was no user interaction for 3 minutes, Camila would start a random idle animation, making her feel more lifelike and dynamic.
Client: University of Hamburg
Role: Bachelor student
Date: July 2022
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Unity
C#
Blender
Mixamo
Challenges
A key challenge was developing a system to trigger random idle animations, such as playing video games, working out, dancing, or writing emails. I had to integrate these animations smoothly into the virtual environment, ensuring they didn’t disrupt user experience. Additionally, creating realistic facial animations using motion capture posed a learning challenge in blending these elements into Unity.
Learnings
This project deepened my understanding of animation integration in Unity, as well as how to create dynamic, lifelike behaviors for virtual assistants. I gained hands-on experience using Mixamo for animations, Blender for asset creation, and motion capture for facial animations. Overall, I enhanced my skills in Unity and animation design, improving my ability to build engaging virtual experiences.