The Olympics Partner (TOP) partner of the International Olympics Committee (IOC), Alibaba Group, announced the virtual influencer named “Dong Dong” for the Winter Olympics Games in Beijing in 2022. Dong Dong communicates with fans using cloud technology and brings the potential of cloud-based innovation closer to customers.
DAMO Academy of Alibaba designed Dong Dong as a fiery, talkative 22-year-old lady from Beijing who enjoys winter sports. Dong Dong is known for her authentic human-like features and sparkling personality, which will enable her to connect with the younger generation.
Dong Dong is going to be a big hit during her dedicated live streaming shows on Tmall. She will be able to promote Olympic merchandise and respond to questions in a natural human voice with different emotions. Dong Dong can also respond with human-like gestures like giving thumbs-up to fans, wiping away tears, and heart-shaped gestures. Dong Dong can also perform live talk shows to introduce Olympic fun facts to the audience.
“Our ambition is to use cloud technology to give the Olympic Winter Games a digital uplift and to deliver Olympic Winter Games experiences relating to cloud and e-commerce platform services to fans in a creative way. That’s why we developed Dong Dong, with the hope that the cloud-based virtual influencer can create better engagement with the younger, digital natives in an exciting and natural way,” said Xiaolong Li, Leader of Alibaba Virtual Human & Intelligent Customer Service.
Cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology was developed by Alibaba, which uses text-to-speech synthesis, and technology that works with 3D was used to develop gestures and facial expressions. Using cloud computing and AI technology, Dong Dong can look, speak, and behave like a young lady with a vibrant personality. With her scripts created solely by cloud technology, she can naturally participate in human-like discussions.
