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How to harness technology for social good? (I)

2023-02-05

[Editor’s note: At the 8th China International College Students’ ‘Internet+’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, Zhejiang University clinched a record-high 13 gold medals. Among them, the “Where: Your Digital Twin Guardian” team won the gold medal in the Undergraduate Creativity Category and participated in the Global Finals as the only Undergraduate Creativity Category team. The “Vision Tech—A Digitalized Reconstruction of Braille Information for the Underlying Logic” team won the gold medal in the Youth’s Red Dream-building Tour Category. Where is the wellspring of their inspirations? What is the secret to their success? Let’s hear their stories.]

When you open the app, a chubby cute image will appear in front of you. It can synch up with your emotional state and habits. In its company, socializing is no longer burdensome, and self-improvement is as easy as ABC. This is a metaverse world which the “Where: Your Digital Twin Guardian” team is committed to creating.

Customized pet images

In this Internet era, many people are mentally isolated, but they also yearn for the existence of those who have the same experience in their lives. Team leader WANG Zhenyang, an undergraduate student in the College of Computer Science and Technology, has a deep understanding of this. “We hope to create an app to alleviate the loneliness of modern people.” Inspired by the concept of “frosted glass” in Descent, a sci-fi novel, the team collects subscribers’ characteristic data and creates such an emotional medium via the self-developed inner virtual image algorithm.

 User interface of the “Where” app

The “Where” app focuses on the subscriber’s character, habits and emotions. Once his or her behavior and living state change, they will be reflected in the image of the pet. For instance, when the subscriber completes his or her daily exercise, the electronic pet will become vigorous and energetic. In contrast, when the subscriber stays up, the virtual image will have “black eyes.” These ingenious features enable every subscriber to know better about themselves.

The digital twin can not only meet the needs of social interaction but also generate a sense of security through the “frosted glass” effect. A digital fairy-tale world can also be built, by which some subtle emotions can be expressed spontaneously. “Sometimes inappropriate words may transform good into evil. Instead, a cold war can be averted through non-verbal means, such as allowing the pet to rub against each other.” 

Roadshow for the “Where” app

Building a complete business model is far from an easy task, even though this product is well-developed. The digital twin is a brand-new direction, and there is not much for reference in terms of narrative mode in the roadshow. With the guidance of Assoc. Prof. ZHANG Kejun at the College of Computer Science and Technology and Prof. XING Yiqun at the School of Management, the team learns from other projects, refines their core ideas and improves their project step by step.

WANG Zhenyang is quite confident about the future. “We are constantly surveying subscribers and optimizing our product. After all, personality is extremely complicated, and there is still a long way to go before the app makes its debut in the real business scenario. We hope that with our efforts, this app will be launched as soon as possible,” says WANG Zhenyang.

Photo credit: The “Where: Your Digital Twin Guardian” team