Virtual learning: using AI, immersion to teach Chinese

TROY, New York: To learn Chinese in this room, talk to the floating panda head. 

The Mandarin-speaking avatar zips around a 360º restaurant scene in an artificial intelligence-driven instruction program that looks like a giant video game. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students testing the technology move inside the 12-foot-high, wrap-around projection to order virtual bean curd from the panda waiter, chat with Beijing market sellers and practice tai chi by mirroring moves of a watchful mentor.