The “Are We Safer Today?” exhibit at the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum challenges visitors to consider how security has evolved since the 1995 bombing. To create this interactive experience, Cortina developed a custom AI-powered system utilizing Unreal Engine and Metahuman technology to represent four virtual characters, each an expert in a different area of security: Cybersecurity, Infrastructure, Large Events, and Explosives.
Visitors begin the experience by watching an introductory video featuring representatives from CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) outlining the steps taken to make us safer today. Afterward, visitors are invited to ask any question about changes in security since 1995. Using Microsoft Azure Speech Services, the system transcribes the visitor’s spoken question and classifies it to select the most relevant Metahuman character to respond. The result is a dynamic interaction that invites visitors to reflect on the question at the heart of the exhibit: Are we safer today than we were in 1995?
“This is an exciting step toward the future of museum storytelling — where AI doesn’t just generate text responses, but gives visitors a new way to explore media content and connect more deeply with their specific questions,” says Bryan Heisey, Principal of Operation, Cortina Productions. “While observing school groups on opening day, we were amazed by the questions they asked — questions that were insightful, thoughtful, and compassionate — and without this technology, many of those questions might have gone unanswered.”
For more information about the Museum, please visit: https://memorialmuseum.com
