Digital avatar Aino answers questions about Karelia at the RUSSIA EXPO

Karelia is famous for its incredible nature. There are many lakes, forests and the purest air for which the republic is called "the lungs of Europe". However, at the exposition the region is ready to showcase not only all of this, but also its achievements in the IT sphere. The presentation of Karelia in all its glory was entrusted not to an ordinary tour guide, but to a digital avatar named Aino with artificial intelligence.

Aino looks like a girl in a national costume, and the face of the virtual image in reality is the face of the Kizhi museum-reserve specialist, historian-interpreter Marina Nozhenko. Aino tells that in the republic you can see the oldest volcano Girvas, unique "hanging lakes", as well as petroglyphs, which are older than the ancient pyramids.

"Avatar Aino is a unique project of Karelian IT specialists, which was developed with the participation of 5 organizations and united 36 people under the guidance of the Association of IT and Robotics Enterprises of the Republic of Karelia. The name Aino was given in honor of the heroine of the Karelian-Finnish epic "Kalevala", — said the representative of the Karelian stand Julia Barysheva.

After communicating with charming Aino, you can draw a picture with the help of neural network and upload the image to your phone. First you need to choose a theme, then decide on the style, and then draw the image on the screen. You don’t have to be an artist at all: a few schematic lines are enough. Artificial intelligence will do the rest.

Very soon Karelia’s stand will be transformed and will delight guests with a winter atmosphere. According to designer Yana Permyakova’s idea, the style of the exposition will change with each season.