Enhancing Scientific Communication and Institutional Identity through a Retrieval-Augmented Generation Digital Personal Tutor

This project presents the development of a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) system applied to the customization of a Non-Player Character (NPC), designed as the digital avatar of the President of the IDIS Foundation Città della Scienza (City of Sci-ence). The NPC acts as both a virtual guide and institutional ambassador within the science center, offering multilingual, interactive, and accessible communication to a broad international audience. Through the integration of generative models with a curated, validated knowledge base, the RAG system enables the NPC to provide accu-rate, context-sensitive, and up-to-date responses to user queries. Developed by the Teaching Learning Centre for Education and Inclusive Technologies ‘Elisa Frauenfeld-er’ at the University of Salerno, the system supports the museum’s educational mission by enhancing science communication and fostering inclusive digital engagement. The avatar features realistic facial animation, movement, and voice synthesis, creating a digital twin capable of simulating human-like interaction. This initiative exemplifies an innovative application of artificial intelligence for an inclusive and equitable qual-ity education and contributes to the development of engaging, accessible, and person-alized learning environments.