[ Research & Development ]

Research is not an add-on. It is our foundation.

For more than two decades, we have researched how digital humans can appear credible, speak naturally and act meaningfully. This expertise is built into every Charamel avatar.

Where we push the boundaries.

01

Facial expression & animation

What makes a gaze believable? We research micro-expressions, eye movement and emotion to overcome the uncanny valley.

02

Real-time rendering

Photorealism that runs live. Our engine research brings cinematic quality to interactive real-time applications on standard hardware.

03

Conversational AI

From understanding to answering: we connect language models with reliable knowledge so the avatar stays in context.

04

Motion Capture & Performance

Real movement as the foundation: we translate human performance into natural avatar gestures and body language.

From the lab to real-world applications

Our research is designed for practical use. Every insight flows directly into products already used by clients today — making each new avatar better than the last.

0+
Years of research into digital humans
0
Core research fields
Proprietary
Engine & technology IP
Cologne
R&D location in Germany
Research partners

Strong partners for powerful solutions.

Efficient product development requires diverse expertise. We focus on our core competence — the avatar solution — and work with strong partners to deliver complete speech input and output systems.

DFKI

DFKI

The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence — a leading research institution for innovative software technologies in Germany.

Nuance

Nuance

A leading global provider of speech and image processing solutions for businesses and consumers.

SemVox

SemVox

Develops voice dialogue systems for natural, multimodal interaction across devices and services.

Acapela

Acapela

Provider of voice and speech solutions — voices that read, inform, explain and present.

Publicly funded research projects

Research for real-world challenges.

From empathetic aftercare and accessible communication to human-machine interaction in vehicles: collaborative projects allow us to develop avatar technologies for social and industrial applications.

BIGEKO
Accessibility · BMBF · 2023–2026

BIGEKO

A system that lets deaf and hearing people communicate in real time through sign language — tested on the emergency call scenario. Charamel coordinates the collaborative project.

View project → Funded by the BMBF
CONFIDENCE
Children & health · BMBF · 2025–2028

CONFIDENCE

An interactive system that helps children affected by bullying build their self-esteem — using AI and socially interactive agents as coaches.

View project → Funded by the BMBF
UBIDENZ
Healthcare · BMBF · 2021–2024

UBIDENZ

A socio-empathic avatar assistance system for outpatient follow-up care after hospital discharge for people with depression — a consortium project with DFKI, the University of Augsburg and Oldenburg University Hospital.

View project → Funded by the BMBF
AVASAG
Accessibility · BMBF · 2020–2023

AVASAG

Avatar-based assistant for automated sign-language translation: an AI-powered 3D avatar translates German text into German Sign Language. Charamel led the project with partners including DFKI, TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences and the University of Augsburg.

View project → Funded by the BMBF
EMMI
Automotive · BMWi · 2020–2023

EMMI

Empathetic human-machine interaction designed to increase trust and acceptance in automated driving: a visual avatar assistant mediates between the vehicle system and its occupants. Partners included Saint-Gobain Sekurit, Cerence, DFKI and RWTH Aachen University.

View project →
EmmA
Work & health · BMBF · 2018–2021

EmmA

An emotional mobile avatar that supports people experiencing psychological strain at work and accompanies their return to the workplace.

View project → Funded by the BMBF
EmpaT
Education · BMBF · 2015–2018

EmpaT

An empathetic training avatar that simulates job interviews realistically and adapts in real time to the socio-emotional situation of the person practising.

View project → Funded by the BMBF
Metalogue
Dialogue systems · EU project

Metalogue

A European research project for a multimodal dialogue system with virtual agents that combine speech, gesture and body language naturally.

View project →
TARDIS
Social skills · EU project

TARDIS

A serious-game platform where young people train social skills and emotion regulation in simulated job interviews with virtual agents.

View project →
V-3DAS
Agriculture · EU project

V-3DAS

Experiential learning in a virtual 3D farm: aspiring farmers practise entrepreneurial decision-making. Charamel handled the video machinima production.

View project →

Interested in a research partnership?

Talk to us →