Aidvanced is a small Italian company founded in 2012 that specializes in developing educational technology using artificial intelligence techniques. The company's members have over 20 years of experience in areas like neural networks, genetic algorithms, and psychological modeling. Aidvanced has participated in and coordinated many EU-funded projects, creating applications for serious games, role-playing simulations, and technology-enhanced learning platforms. Two such applications are VirtualGyms and Play2Lead, which use AI to create text-based games to teach soft skills and leadership theories through role-playing conversations and job assignments with virtual agents. Both applications provide players with assessment and tutoring feedback.

1. CKBG 2014
Pavia, January 31st
Massimiliano Schembri
Company's Administrator

2. AIDVANCED
Aidvanced is a small company specialized in high technology industry.
It was funded in 2012 but, in spite of its young age, the company has a long
experience thanks to the work of its members.

3. AIDVANCED
Aidvanced members have over 20 years of experience in computational
techniques such as:
• neural networks
• genetic algorithms
• artificial life
• psychological modelling
• intelligent tutoring systems

4. AIDVANCED
Aidvanced members participated to many EC funded projects, and
coordinated most of them:
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SISINE
EUTOPIA-MT
Dread-ed
SINAPSI
Learn2Lead
Proactive
T3 - Teaching with Technology
Decide-it
BlockMagic
SCube

5. AIDVANCED
Also thanks to these projects, Aidvanced created many applications that make
use of artificial intelligence techniques, such as:
- Serious games
- Role-playing simulations
- Technology enhanced learning platforms

6. Aidvanced Applications Workflow
Psychological
modeling
Assessement
rules
Tutoring rules
Game rules
Authoring
tool
Game
scenario
Implementation
Game

7. Virtual Gyms
VirtualGyms is one of such applications.
It is a Technology Enhanced Learning platform, with which it is possible to
create custom serious games, using Artificial Intelligence technologies, for the
learning and development of the so-called "soft skills" such as leadership,
negotiation and communication skills, language, persuasion and personality.
Games created used VirtualGyms are text based, and represent a conversation
with a virtual interlocutor.

8. Virtual Gyms
An example is PalMa (Palestra Manageriale) a serious game in which the
player is a businessman who has to convince an employee to carry out a work
assignment

9. Virtual Gyms
The game is very easy and consists in selecting the appropriate sentence
among the available ones (7), at each stage of the conversation.

10. Virtual Gyms
At the end of the game, PalMa is able to provide assessment and tutoring
feedbacks to the player.

11. Virtual Gyms
The power of PalMa is its "engine": VirtualGyms authoring tool and Aidvanced
techniques for modeling psychological theories.

12. Play2Lead
Play2Lead is a web based game where the player (the leader) learns
psychological leadership theories by governing a team of artificial agents (the
followers).

13. Play2Lead
With respect to PalMa, Play2Lead is more "action-based": you don't talk with
the followers, but rather assign them to one or more jobs.

14. Play2Lead
However, the game structure is the same:
- implementing a Psychological theory (in this case, the Full Range Leadership)
- implement tutoring and assessment rules
- create a game scenario
- implement the game (in this case, a business game)

15. Play2Lead
Like PalMa, at the end of the game Play2Lead is able to provide assessment
and tutoring feedbacks to the player

16. Thank you