Intel AI Powered Virtual Assistant Mobilized to Assist Reopening of Military Museum

A Canadian museum is safely reopening from its pandemic closure with the help of a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Originally designed by CloudConstable to welcome visitors to the Ontario Regiment Museum, virtual assistant Master Corporal Lana interacts with visitors over a large screen, and was reconfigured with Intel® RealSense™ and AI technology to enable the safe return of the many volunteers who keep the museum and vehicles operating.

The Ontario Regiment Museum houses North America’s largest collection of operational military vehicles, many dating back to the 1940s. The collection allows the public to experience a piece of history, both at the museum and through the historical films in which the vehicles often appear.  

At the start of the pandemic in early 2020, CloudConstable began working with the museum to design Master Corporal Lana as an AI virtual assistant who would greet visitors, check them in and provide museum details.  

Before Lana’s deployment, COVID-19 closed the museum to the public. But with over 120 military vehicles that need constant servicing and driving, the museum needed its volunteers to continue their essential maintenance and operations work at the site.  

“The Ontario Regiment Museum is one of the few museums in the world with such a large and diverse collection of operating military vehicles, which help people experience history in a very real way. Regular maintenance is crucial, even during the worst of the pandemic, which is why we turned to CloudConstable and Intel to help build an autonomous solution,” said Jeremy Blowers, executive director of the Ontario Regiment Museum.  

CloudConstable relied on the Intel RealSense team’s insight that Lana’s existing and unique capabilities — already built on the Intel RealSense Depth Camera and using the Intel® Distribution of OpenVINO™ toolkit for accelerated machine vision inferences — could be extended for a more comprehensive and safer COVID-19 screening solution. Adding an Intel® NUC 9 Pro with Intel Active Management Technology, as part of the Intel vPro® platform, the team reworked Lana to take temperatures via thermal scans and ask a series of questions to assess COVID-19 risk and exposure. Since June, Lana has provided an enhanced, fully automated and touchless screening process so volunteers can continue to do their important work with the vehicles.  

“Intel RealSense technology is used to develop products that enrich people’s lives by enabling machines and devices to perceive the world in 3D. CloudConstable leverages Intel’s technology to help create a state-of-the-art natural voice and vision interface with touchless, self-service COVID-19 screening,” said Joel Hagberg, head of product management and marketing, Intel’s RealSense group. 

With the Ontario Regiment Museum now preparing to reopen to the public, CloudConstable, along with Intel, is now working to bring the new COVID-19 protection capabilities into the original concept for Lana as a greeter for visitors. Lana will greet visitors, provide contactless check-in, scan temperatures and ensure the museum adheres to visitor limits and other COVID-19 health protection protocols. Eventually, she’ll even thank them for coming and help visitors keep in touch with all the latest activities at the museum.