Using the Holodeck from Startrek as our inspiration, researchers at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies have been pushing back the boundaries of the possible with the goal of creating immersive experiences so compelling that people will react to them as if they were real. In this talk I will describe our research in photo-real computer graphics, interactive virtual humans, immersive virtual reality and computer-based tutoring that moves us closer to realizing the vision of the Holodeck. I will also discuss how entertainment content in the form of engaging stories and characters can heighten these experiences, and how such experiences can be used for learning.

William Swartout is Director of Technology for USC's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) and a research professor of computer science at USC. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from MIT and his bachelor's degree from Stanford University.

Dr. Swartout has been involved in the research and development of AI systems for over 30 years. His particular research interests include virtual humans, explanation and text generation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation, knowledge sharing, education, intelligent agents and the development of new AI architectures.

As Director of Technology at the ICT, Dr. Swartout provides overall direction for the ICT's research programs. He led the Mission Rehearsal Exercise project, which created an immersive virtual reality environment in which trainees interact with computer generated virtual humans. This project received awards for outstanding innovation in modeling and simulation from the NTSA and has received other awards including first place for innovative application of agent technology at the 2001 International Conference on Autonomous Agents.

Dr. Swartout is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), has served on the Board of Councilors of the AAAI and is past chair of the Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence (SIGART) of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). His is a member of the US Joint Forces Command Transformation Advisory Group, the Board on Army Science and Technology of the National Academies, and a past member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board.