Guardia, part of the Security Training Pilot, an innovative XR/AI media pilot, was successfully showcased at a recent internal tech fair hosted by Deutsche Welle in Berlin.
The demonstration, which ran for approximately six hours, introduced attendees to Guardia, a virtual assistant housed within a web application and powered by a specialized Large Language Model (LLM). The trip proved highly valuable, drawing a continuous stream of visitors who participated in an interactive session. Feedback was unanimously positive, with attendees describing the prototype as both “pretty cool” and “actually useful.”
In her current form, Guardia is designed to enhance personal safety and security for journalists. The assistant primarily functions by providing safety instructions, quizzing users on security topics, and answering individual, complex questions in a free-chat mode. Crucially, Guardia is built to support, not replace, human trainers and consultants, helping organizations scale their vital safety efforts.
The technology underlying the pilot, based on the SERMAS toolkit, emphasizes accessibility and flexibility. The virtual assistant runs in nearly any browser, supporting both standard and Augmented Reality (AR) environments. A robust Content Management System (CMS) ensures versatile content creation, allowing for the rapid deployment of various web-based training modules. The system uses a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) approach combined with strategic system prompts to maintain a topical focus and significantly minimize AI hallucinations. Furthermore, the system offers complete flexibility, allowing for easy exchange of avatars and simple rebranding by swapping background images, colors, and fonts.
The creation and successful debut of this pilot were the result of a significant, collaborative effort across the entire project and consortium.
SERMAS/Guardia team at DW Innovation: Bahia Albrecht, Farina Hamann, and Axel Primavesi.
