A speculative video envisioning how AR companions could help introverts navigate social anxiety in public spaces, built through multi-platform AI experimentation and fine-tuning to demonstrate both concept innovation and integrated generative workflows.
AI Integration
Iterative Fine-Tuning
Speculative Design
Project Overview
Wicked Problem
Introverts often face significant challenges in public places and social interactions, leading to feelings of anxiety and discomfort. This discomfort often results in missed opportunities for connection and personal growth.
What if AR glasses came with an AI-powered companion that provides real-time prompts and emotional support, helping introverts navigate social interactions with confidence?
Characters
Cat is an introverted, thoughtful person who feels drained in public spaces and under social pressure. She finds crowds and small talk challenging, often needing extra encouragement to engage. Her AR glasses, featuring her virtual companion Dave, help her navigate social situations and find comfort amidst the noise.
Dave is Cat’s cheerful virtual companion in her AR view, offering gentle social prompts and guidance to ease her interactions. Sensitive to Cat’s energy levels, he provides support, suggesting quiet spots when she’s socially drained. With Dave, Cat feels grounded and less alone in busy environments.
Tom is Cat’s enthusiastic manager who values friendly, open communication with his team. However, his outgoing and warm personality unintentionally adds social pressure for Cat, as she feels obliged to meet his social expectations, making interactions with him a source of subtle stress.
Characters
Cat is an introverted, thoughtful person who feels drained in public spaces and under social pressure. She finds crowds and small talk challenging, often needing extra encouragement to engage. Her AR glasses, featuring her virtual companion Dave, help her navigate social situations and find comfort amidst the noise.
Dave is Cat’s cheerful virtual companion in her AR view, offering gentle social prompts and guidance to ease her interactions. Sensitive to Cat’s energy levels, he provides support, suggesting quiet spots when she’s socially drained. With Dave, Cat feels grounded and less alone in busy environments.
Tom is Cat’s enthusiastic manager who values friendly, open communication with his team. However, his outgoing and warm personality unintentionally adds social pressure for Cat, as she feels obliged to meet his social expectations, making interactions with him a source of subtle stress.
Process Timeline
Step
Concept & Story
Visual Design
Scriptwriting
Video Generation
Audio Design
Editing
Key Output
Defined theme, characters, and narrative arc through group discussions and ChatGPT prompts.
Cat & Tom visuals, Dave hand sketch + AI refinement, environment scenes and AR UI.
Final dialogue script written and refined for natural tone.
Cat and Tom clips, Dave animation.
Cat and Tom voices, sound effects, background music.
Video editing, AR effects, report writing and presentation
Tools
Throughout the process, we explored a wide range of AI tools and prompt variations, fine-tuning through multiple iterations before selecting the final outputs shown here. During development, we tested tools including DALL·E, Gemini, Adobe Firefly, Haihuo, and Sora, before ultimately finalizing our workflow with MidJourney, RunwayML, Suno, and ChatGPT.
Key Output
Step
Tools
Concept & Story
Defined theme, characters, and narrative arc through group discussions and ChatGPT prompts.
Visual Design
Cat & Tom visuals, Dave hand sketch + AI refinement, environment scenes and AR UI.
Scriptwriting
Final dialogue script written and refined for natural tone.
Video Generation
Cat and Tom clips, Dave animation.
Audio Design
Cat and Tom voices, sound effects, background music.
Editing
Video editing, AR effects, report writing and presentation
Characters
Cat is an introverted, thoughtful person who feels drained in public spaces and under social pressure. She finds crowds and small talk challenging, often needing extra encouragement to engage. Her AR glasses, featuring her virtual companion Dave, help her navigate social situations and find comfort amidst the noise.
Dave is Cat’s cheerful virtual companion in her AR view, offering gentle social prompts and guidance to ease her interactions. Sensitive to Cat’s energy levels, he provides support, suggesting quiet spots when she’s socially drained. With Dave, Cat feels grounded and less alone in busy environments.
Tom is Cat’s enthusiastic manager who values friendly, open communication with his team. However, his outgoing and warm personality unintentionally adds social pressure for Cat, as she feels obliged to meet his social expectations, making interactions with him a source of subtle stress.
Reflection
This project, completed in late 2024, marked my early exploration of AI as a creative partner. Although newer tools have since advanced significantly, they demonstrated my ability to rapidly learn, integrate multiple platforms, and refine outputs through iterative fine-tuning. More importantly, it shows how I can leverage AI to augment the design process, shaping my approach to future creative work with emerging technologies.
Challenges & Learnings
Consistency
Balancing AI-generated characters with realistic environments to avoid visual mismatch.
Natural Interactions
Fine-tuning dialogue and audio to make Cat and Tom’s conversation feel authentic and emotional.
Cost Management
Optimizing credits for paid AI tools while testing prompts in free versions.
These challenges taught us to combine AI outputs with traditional methods to achieve better control and polish.
Video Showcase
Characters
Cat is an introverted, thoughtful person who feels drained in public spaces and under social pressure. She finds crowds and small talk challenging, often needing extra encouragement to engage. Her AR glasses, featuring her virtual companion Dave, help her navigate social situations and find comfort amidst the noise.
Dave is Cat’s cheerful virtual companion in her AR view, offering gentle social prompts and guidance to ease her interactions. Sensitive to Cat’s energy levels, he provides support, suggesting quiet spots when she’s socially drained. With Dave, Cat feels grounded and less alone in busy environments.
Tom is Cat’s enthusiastic manager who values friendly, open communication with his team. However, his outgoing and warm personality unintentionally adds social pressure for Cat, as she feels obliged to meet his social expectations, making interactions with him a source of subtle stress.
Team Credits
Siyu Fang
Led Dave’s character design (hand sketch + AI), wrote the final script, created Cat’s video and voice generation, produced the original background music, and directed the overall visual style.
Alix (Jingwen) Zhang
Created Cat and Tom’s character visuals and environment scenes, designed AR interface elements, generated Dave’s animation, and handled final video editing and AR effects.
Chaitra Alankar
Wrote the final report and assisted with sound effects and documentation.
All team members contributed to the initial concept ideation and final presentation preparation.