Digital Twins

As Web 4.0 blurs the line between physical and digital, identity is being redefined. Using my own digital twin, I explored the avatar as a medium for self-representation—how these new virtual bodies shape self-perception and our interactions online.
The goal: to understand how creating and using an avatar can reshape authenticity in an age of multiple, fluid identities.

My Digital Twin

The avatar I developed is not just a visual representation, but a true Digital Twin that amplifies my digital presence. It can be used to:

• Create multimedia content → videos, livestreams, and digital interactions with an always-on virtual identity.
• Engage in metaverse platforms and immersive environments → participate in digital events and networking.
• Automate communication → answer questions, enable personalized experiences, and extend my online presence.
• Experiment with new forms of storytelling → interactive narratives driven by a dynamic digital identity.

The avatar is my digital alter ego, able to operate autonomously in defined contexts while staying true to my personality and values.

The Design Process

Creating the Avatar from Real Photos
The modeling began with a series of real photos taken from multiple angles to capture facial geometry and detail. These images were processed with photogrammetry software, generating a point-cloud 3D mesh that faithfully reproduces my features and creates a skin texture.

MetaHuman & Unreal Engine 5

MetaHuman was used to create the digital twin, and Unreal Engine 5 handled animation and rendering.

MetaHuman avatar creation

The process of creating an avatar with MetaHuman involves building photorealistic human models. The tool enables highly detailed digital characters with advanced facial expressions, motion, and customization. Avatar setup in MetaHuman starts from predefined human character templates and lets you fine-tune every facial feature to create a character that fits your needs.

Unreal Engine 5 implementation

The avatar was implemented in Unreal Engine 5, enabling smooth animation, advanced interaction, and integration with realistic virtual environments, as well as motion capture to reproduce lifelike facial expressions and body movements.

The graphics quality reaches photorealistic levels, handling fine detail—skin, hair, facial expression—thanks to the Lumen rendering engine, which is also used to build environments and virtual simulations in Unreal Engine.

With the Unreal Engine integration in place, the workflow moves on to creating the 3D environment and producing all the scenarios in which the digital twin is deployed

3. Artificial Intelligence for Interaction

AI was implemented with:

• AI chatbot to answer questions and engage with the audience.
• Advanced text-to-speech to generate a natural, adaptable voice.
• Machine learning for response personalization → the avatar learns from user inputs and progressively improves interactions.

The integration of Convai into the Lorentso digital twin was essential to make the avatar interactive and able to communicate with users in a natural, realistic way. Convai—a platform specialized in conversational AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP)—was used to give the digital twin the ability to understand human language, respond in real time, and adapt to conversational context.

Role of AI in avatar interaction

The primary goal of using a tool like Convai in the Lorentso digital twin was to create a dynamic virtual assistant—capable of handling open-ended questions, delivering personalized answers, and sustaining smooth conversations—without feeling like a pre-programmed chatbot.

Key capabilities implemented:

• Contextual understanding → Convai lets the avatar read conversational context, avoid generic replies, and improve interaction quality.
• Personalized responses → With machine learning, the avatar adapts to users, naturally reinforcing concepts and recalling key elements of the conversation.
• Multilingual support → Convai enables communication in multiple languages, broadening accessibility.
• Handling complex requests → The avatar can provide detailed information, explain concepts, and answer non-predefined questions.

Practical uses of the Avatar

The avatar will play a strategic role across:

• Social Media & Content Creation → producing videos with an always-on digital identity.
• Networking in Metaverse platforms → taking part in virtual events and conferences.
• Customer Interaction & Branding → serving as a virtual assistant to answer questions and engage the community.
• AI and Digital Storytelling → evolving the digital twin with new modes of interactive narration.

Impact on the Perception of Digital Identity

Using a Digital Twin reshapes how I engage with people and manage my online identity. The avatar extends my presence across virtual spaces, enabling seamless, always-on interactions.