The Challenge
The ‘Modernising Government’ agenda continually seeks to improve the quality and accessibility of public information and services through technology. Delivering a vast range of information via its web site, the Scottish Executive aims to keep the public up to date with timely, accurate news.

The Scottish Executive wanted to humanise the interaction between the computer and the individual, encourage greater visits to their site and to provide people with easy access to information. To meet these objectives, DA Group was selected to develop a more natural, immediate and effective means of communicating news online.

The challenge is to find ways in which to present information to a universal audience in a way that people can access and relate to.

The Solution
As pioneers of avatar technology DA Group set out to create a virtual character as an exciting user interface for the web site. The resulting solution was Seonaid (Scottish Executive Online News And Information Distributor) an online ‘cyber’ presenter to deliver news as it happens with all the expected ‘human’ emotions.

To create a stimulating and intuitive newsreader for the Scottish Executive, the first step was to establish the character’s basic parameters of age, sex, hair and eye colour. By adding additional visual and sensory characteristics, natural shape and movement, the human elements of the character then began to take shape.

DA Group’s proprietary software coordinates Seonaid’s lip synchronisation with natural face and body movement, emotional response and personality traits for instant delivery via the web. She delivers the news, word-perfect and without rehearsal, in a matter of minutes.

Results
Created with a Scottish accent, to connect her more closely with the people she works and speaks with, a distinct personality and even a detailed CV, she successfully humanises the interaction between the citizen and the computer. Not only is Seonaid helping to break down the barriers of traditional human computer interaction, her persona is also helping to radically change perceptions about politics and online news delivery. A flexible and customisable solution, Seonaid also appears in short videos, conferences and promotional campaigns.

Following Seonaid’s introduction, The Scottish Executive web site saw an increase of almost 200% in overall traffic and a 37% increase in unique users. The next step for Seonaid is to incorporate foreign languages and sign language into her repertoire. The Executive is also looking into ways to expand her use on to other platforms so that she can be accessed through an even wider variety of channels. Seonaid can be seen at www.scotland.gov.uk .