For a major installation at Purdue University, Exhibitry brought famous alumni to life. Not as a slideshow of archive photos, but as life-size figures with a natural, lifelike presence.
Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong and inventor Mohamed Atalla were each created through a blend of facial modeling, voice synthesis and AI-assisted animation. None of them could be filmed for the piece. The work was to make them feel present anyway, and to keep every word true to the record.
Real performers, AI-guided faces.
Each performance began with live actors. Their recordings trained the AI systems on facial movement, gesture and timing, so the figures move the way people move. From there the process combined face replacement, guided animation and expressive AI-driven modeling to reach a natural, lifelike presence.
Getting the history rightHistorians in the room, start to finish.
A portrayal of a real person carries a responsibility a cartoon does not. Exhibitry worked closely with Purdue’s historians and subject-matter experts throughout development, for historical accuracy and for the emotional connection visitors have with these figures.
Content that honors Purdue’s legacy while connecting its most iconic figures to modern innovation.
The project shows what AI adds to storytelling: more presence, more personality and more connection than traditional animation alone can reach.