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Please see the Download section on how to obtain the toolkit.
How do I
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Please see the Installing the Toolkit tutorial.
How do I run the provided example scenario?
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Some components, like SmartBody, Launcher, Logger and VHMsg, are open source, while others are binary-only. We might release the source code of these in the future, though, including NPCEditor, NVBG and MultiSense. SmartBody has its own SourceForge page which you can access here. See the License Agreement page for licensing information.
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The Toolkit as a whole is currently targeted for the Microsoft Windows platform only, in particular Windows 7, both 32 and 64 bit. Some components are multi-platform, most notably SmartBody and the NPCEditor, as well as the Launcher and Logger. C# components should work on Mac OS when using Mono. We do no currently support non-Windows platforms. Build instructions for other platforms can be found here.
I know of this great character at ICT that uses Toolkit technology. Can I get access to the data driving that character?
With the Toolkit we are aiming to provide a technical platform allowing researchers to more quickly create their own virtual humans. Whether project-specific agents will be made available to the public will be determined on a case by case basis, but will usually fall outside the scope of the Toolkit.
Installation Process
Why do some of the 3rd party installers not start?
Not all 3rd party software come with their own installers. Some might just copy over files to the correct location.
The installer tells me I should do something with the Registry; how do I do that?
If you installed the MS SAPI voices and you are running Windows XP 64 bit, some changes in the registry are required to be able to use the installed voices. You can do this by double clicking "Microsoft-Voices.reg" in "C:\vhtoolkit\scripts". You can check to see if the changes worked by going to the Speech settings in Windows (Start -> Control Panel -> Speech). Under "Voice Selection" you should have several options, including "Microsoft Mike".
Running the Example Scenario
Why can't I run the Launcher? It came up fine after the installation
It might be that the executable used to start the Launcher can not be found. Please make sure that javaw.exe is part of your path. The location is usually "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_26\bin". The path is defined in your Environment Variables; right-click on My Computer, go to the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables. The Toolkit is currently only compatible with the 32 bit version of Java.
Why do I get many errors and are all of the Launcher rows orange?
Orange means that the Launcher has tried to launch a component, but hasn't received a confirmation message back indicating it is up and running. This is likely due to not running the ActiveMQ service. Please make sure it is running (Right click My Computer, select Manage, Services and Applications, Services). If it is not running, turn it on (the Play button at the top). If it is not present, please install using the Toolkit installer with 3rd party software.
Why won't the renderer load?
Running the Example Scenario
Why can't I run the Launcher? It came up fine after the installation
It might be that the executable used to start the Launcher can not be found. Please make sure that javaw.exe is part of your path. The location is usually "C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.6.0_26\bin". The path is defined in your Environment Variables; right-click on My Computer, go to the Advanced tab and click Environment Variables. The Toolkit is currently only compatible with the 32 bit version of Java.
Why do I get many errors and are all of the Launcher rows orange?
Orange means that the Launcher has tried to launch a component, but hasn't received a confirmation message back indicating it is up and running. This is likely due to not running the ActiveMQ service. Please make sure it is running (Right click My Computer, select Manage, Services and Applications, Services). If it is not running, turn it on (the Play button at the top). If it is not present, please install using the Toolkit installer with 3rd party software.
Why won't the renderer load?
- Be sure to install all 3rd party software that comes with the installer.
- If this doesn't work, make sure that you have the latest video drivers installed.
- Make sure that your video card supports shader model 3 or higher. This is usually the case with newer dedicated video cards. Integrated video cards might not work.
- See if the problem happens with both Unity and Ogre. If Ogre works in OpenGL mode, it might be a DirectX problem.
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- Be sure to install all 3rd party software that comes with the installer.
- If this doesn't work, make sure that you have the latest video drivers installed.
- Make sure that your video card supports shader model 3 or higher. This is usually the case with newer dedicated video cards. Integrated video cards might not work.
- See if the problem happens with both Unity and Ogre. If Ogre works in OpenGL mode, it might be a DirectX problem.
- In rare cases, a virus scanner may block the Unity executable. Refer to the documentation of your virus scanner to see if the executable has been quarantined or deleted. Update your virus definitions.
Why don't I see Brad and Rachel, even though a renderer (Unity, Ogre) is running?
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- The Unity executable is \vhtoolkit\bin\vhtoolkitUnity\vhtoolkitUnity.exe.
Why don't I hear Brad and Rachel?
See if the characters are moving their lips. If so, make sure your volume is not all the way down, that it is not muted, and that you know where sound should come from (i.e., desktop speakers, or headphones that have just been plugged in). If Brad is they are not moving his their lips, make sure the Text To Speech module is running. If it is, look in its console window NVGB, NPCEditor and speech recognition software are all running (check that their row is green in the Launcher). Try to identify where in the chain things break; when you talk, white text indicates the speech recognition result; yellow text indicates the characters are responding. You can look in the Unity console window (~ key) for any error messages that might give you an idea of what is going wrong.
Why did Brad and Rachel stop reacting to me?
They might not have the correct answer for you, especially if you have tried asking the same question a couple of times. There might also be a delay in some of the modules. Try waiting a 30 seconds before trying again. If there is no response at all, make sure all modules are still green in the Launcher. If a module that is checked is neutral, try launching it. If one of the checked rows is orange, the module might have crashed. Find the associated window or process and quit it manually, then restart that module. If all checked rows are green, try to restart SmartBody, the NVBG and the NPCEditor. If Restart them. If this doesn't help, quit all modules and restart them. As a last resort, try rebooting your computer and start all modules. If this still doesn't resolve the issue, ask in the Google Group.
ActiveMQ
How can I check whether ActiveMQ is running?
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A Toolkit component that allows users and developers supportive functions.
Toolkit
See Virtual FAQ#Virtual Human Toolkit.
TTS
TtsRelay
TtsRelay is a Toolkit module that interfaces to a variety of text-to-speech engines, including Festival and MS SAPI.
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An acronym for virtual humans, often used to refer to the ICT Virtual Humans group.
VHToolkit
See Virtual FAQ#Virtual Human Toolkit.
Virtual Human Toolkit
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