Interactive Drama Inc.

Since 1984, IDI has been designing, producing, and using voice-activated interactive video simulations for experiential learning. The founders of IDI were associated with the National Library of Medicine, which supported the early research and development of the virtual dialogue model and multimedia authoring tool, now known as Conversim®, to produce Virtual Conversations® programs. The founders of IDI further developed the model and, in 1991, were awarded U.S. Patent No. 5,006,987 to protect this unique method of dialogue with a virtual human subject. Subsequently, IDI developed a dynamic, intelligent prompting system to help users conduct a focused and informative dialogue with Virtual Conversations® characters. In 1997, U.S. Patent No. 5,730,603 was awarded to protect the IDI prompting method. The virtual dialogue model has evolved into a cross-platform internet application that allows users to have a spoken conversation with heroes, master teachers, medical experts, and people who have learned lessons from a dramatic event in their lives. Sitting face-to-face with a person’s image, the user speaks and the person responds. We use our proprietary software, Conversim®, to: 1) immortalize the personalities and thought processes of significant people; 2) accelerate and promote profound learning; and 3) provide insights and deeper understanding from other peoples’ experiences. IDI was incorporated in Maryland in 1986. It is a closely held, private corporation.