Avatar Troubleshooting: Hardware, Setup, and Speech

What are the hardware requirements for Avatar?

To run Avatar reliably, your device must meet these minimum specifications:

Component	Requirement
OS	Windows Pro
Processor	Intel i5 12th Generation or better (e.g. Intel NUC 12 Pro)
RAM	16 GB or more
Storage	512 GB
Graphics	Intel Iris Xe or a dedicated GPU (e.g. Nvidia)
Browser	Google Chrome
Microphone	External USB mic recommended (e.g. Rode)
Webcam	LG Brio or Elo-mounted camera
Screen	Elo Touch touchscreen monitor
Stand	Elo Touch Wallaby Pro self-service stand
Internet	Wired connection at 50 Mbit/s or faster

Optional accessories:

Kiosk software: Chrome Kiosk (free) or SiteKiosk (paid)
Barcode/QR scanner (Elo-mounted, compatible with specific Elo monitors)
Remote access: SiteKiosk, AnyDesk, or TeamViewer

How do I install and set up Avatar on a display device?

Humanizing Technologies pre-configures Avatar hardware for you. Here is what the installation process covers:Windows setupIf you do not have an existing email address for the device, Humanizing creates one (e.g. an @outlook.de account) and sets up Windows using that address.Software installed

Avira Antivirus
AnyDesk (remote access)
Google Chrome (if not already present)

Kiosk modeYou choose one of the available kiosk options (see the next FAQ entry). Humanizing installs and configures the chosen option for you.Custom settingsIf you need additional customisations, let your Humanizing contact know and they will configure the device to your requirements.

What kiosk options are available for Avatar?

Choose the kiosk mode that fits your deployment environment:Option A — Chrome Kiosk on Windows

✅ Virtual keyboard available
✅ Easy and quick to set up
✅ Works on any Windows device with Chrome
⚠️ Users can exit kiosk mode (not recommended for unattended public areas)

Option B — Chrome Kiosk on Windows with Explorer disabled

✅ Easy and quick to set up
✅ Very secure when no physical keyboard is attached and USB slots are hidden
❌ No virtual keyboard — only suitable when text input is not needed

Option C — Windows 11 Kiosk User with Microsoft Edge

✅ Virtual keyboard available
✅ Easy to set up on Windows 11+
⚠️ Avatar is optimised for Chrome; Edge may cause unexpected behaviour

Option D — Third-party software (e.g. SiteKiosk)

✅ Highly secure
✅ Virtual keyboard available
✅ Works on Windows with Chrome
❌ Paid licence required
❌ More complex setup

For public-facing deployments, choose Option B or Option D to prevent visitors from exiting the kiosk.

How can I automatically click the Play button after my device starts up?

Humanizing Technologies strongly discourages automating the Play button click. The overlay exists so that end users can give explicit consent to data processing. Bypassing it may not comply with GDPR in all jurisdictions. Review the regulations applicable to your country before proceeding.

For stationary setups, the recommended approach is to configure Chrome to allow auto-play audio instead (see the “Setup Chrome to play Avatar speech without Play button overlay” entry below).If you still need to automate a mouse click at startup, follow these steps using a Python script:

Install Python

Download and install the latest Python version from python.org/downloads.

Install the pyautogui library

Open a terminal and run:

pip install pyautogui

Download the auto-click script

Obtain auto_click.py from your Humanizing contact and save it to a convenient location.

Add the script to startup (Windows)

Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and press Enter. Copy auto_click.py into the Startup folder that opens.

Adjust the click coordinates (optional)

Open auto_click.py in a text editor. Modify the click_x and click_y values to match the exact on-screen position of the Play button.

Set the startup delay

Find the line time.sleep(3) and replace 3 with the number of seconds your device takes to fully load Avatar. For example, if Avatar is visible 25 seconds after boot, use 30.

Reboot and test

Restart your device. The script will run automatically in the background and simulate the click after the specified delay.

How do I refresh the Avatar page automatically?

Use the Auto Refresh Plus | Page Monitor Chrome extension to keep Avatar fresh without manual intervention.

Install the extension

Open the Chrome Web Store and search for Auto Refresh Plus | Page Monitor. Click Add to Chrome and confirm the installation.

Set a predefined URL

Open the extension settings, navigate to the Predefined tab, enable the predefined URL option, and enter your Avatar link (e.g. https://go.plural.io/s/54a4867a00).

Configure the refresh frequency

Switch to the Frequency tab and choose how often the page should reload.

Enable autostart

Go to the Autostart section, paste your Avatar URL, and enable autostart so the extension activates automatically when Chrome opens.

How do I configure a NUC to start automatically when power is connected?

Configure your Intel NUC’s BIOS so that it powers on whenever electricity is restored — useful for installations where the display is connected to a timer or power strip.

Enter BIOS setup

During the boot sequence, press F2 to open the BIOS setup utility.

Navigate to power settings

Go to Power → Secondary power settings.

Set the after-power-failure behaviour

Change the After power failure option to On.

Save and exit

Press F10 to save changes and exit the BIOS.

With this setting, an intentional shutdown (e.g. via Windows) keeps the device off. Only a power-cycle will turn it back on automatically.

How do I enable the on-screen virtual keyboard in Windows 11?

Open Windows Settings

Press Win + I to open Settings.

Go to Time & Language → Keyboards

Select Time & language from the sidebar, then click Typing and then Advanced keyboard settings.

Enable the virtual keyboard

Select Virtual keyboard and check the option Always on to ensure the keyboard appears whenever a text field is focused.

For further keyboard customisation options, see the Microsoft on-screen keyboard documentation.

How do I set up Chrome to play Avatar speech without the Play button overlay?

Modern browsers block auto-play audio to prevent unwanted background noise. Avatar uses a Play button overlay to work around this — but for permanent kiosk installations you can disable the overlay and allow Chrome to play audio automatically.

Request overlay removal

Contact support@humanizing.com and provide your Avatar’s Robot ID. Humanizing will disable the Play button overlay on your Avatar.

Open your Avatar URL in Chrome

Once the overlay is removed, open your Avatar link. The Avatar will start immediately but stay silent — this is expected.

Allow sound in Chrome site settings

Click the settings icon (lock or tune icon) to the left of the address bar. Find the Sound setting and change it to Allow.

Reload the page

Go back to your Avatar tab and press F5 to reload. Avatar will now speak without any overlay.

This setup is intended for stationary, single-use kiosk installations. Review GDPR consent requirements before disabling the Play button in EU deployments.

How do I shut the PC down automatically on a schedule?

Use Windows Task Scheduler to power off the kiosk PC at a set time each day.

Open Task Scheduler

Search for Task Scheduler in the Windows Start menu and click Create Task….

Configure the General tab

Give the task a descriptive name. Select Run whether user is logged on or not, tick Run with highest privileges, and set Configure for to Windows 10.

Set a trigger

Switch to the Triggers tab, click New…, set Begin the task to On a schedule, choose the frequency (e.g. Daily) and the start time, ensure Enabled is checked, then click OK.

Add the shutdown action

Switch to the Actions tab, click New…, select Start a program, enter shutdown as the program, and add /S /F as the argument. Click OK.

Set idle conditions

Switch to the Conditions tab, tick Start the task only if the computer is idle for, choose a time period, and also tick Stop if the computer ceases to be idle and Restart if the idle state resumes.

Save the task

Click OK to save. The PC will shut down at the scheduled time when the machine is idle.

How do I enable kiosk mode on an HP Chromebase?

Install the Kiosk app

Open Google Chrome on your Chromebase and go to the Kiosk app in the Chrome Web Store. Click Launch App to start the kiosk application.

Enter your Avatar URL

In the Kiosk app, find the Content URL section and paste the link to your Avatar.

Set an admin password

Scroll down to the Administration section and enter a username and password of your choice. Write these down somewhere safe — you will need them to exit kiosk mode.

Save and restart

Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save & Restart. The Chromebase will relaunch directly into your Avatar.

To exit kiosk mode:

Connect a keyboard to the Chromebase.
Press Ctrl + A.
Enter your admin username and password.
Scroll to the bottom and click Exit.

Keep your admin credentials stored securely. Without them, you cannot exit the kiosk application.

How do I switch between Avatar personas at runtime?

You can switch the Avatar character mid-flow by appending a PluralAvatarID parameter to the Avatar URL.Step 1 — Find the Avatar IDIn the Plural platform, go to the avatar selection screen and hover over the avatar you want to switch to. Its ID will appear in a tooltip.Step 2 — Construct the URLAppend ?PluralAvatarID=<id> to your Avatar’s base URL. For example:

https://go.plural.io/s/0172c7ad4e?PluralAvatarID=11

Step 3 — Use a Script element to switch personasIn your flow, add a Script element and call:

openLink('https://go.plural.io/s/0172c7ad4e?PluralAvatarID=11', '_blank');

This reloads the Avatar tab with the new character. Add a second Script element to switch back to the original persona.

To skip the Play button when the reloaded Avatar starts, configure Chrome to allow auto-play audio (see “Setup Chrome to play Avatar speech without Play button overlay” above).

Avatar speech recognition does not work — what should I check?

Work through the following checks in order:1. Verify that speech recognition is enabled in your Avatar settingsOpen your Avatar in the Plural editor and confirm the speech recognition toggle is switched on. When enabled and the Plural Dialogs switch is also on, the Avatar answers questions from the standard dialog automatically.Each button label in Menu and Question elements automatically becomes a voice trigger, so users can speak the button text to select it.2. Check browser microphone permissionsChrome shows two indicators when it is accessing your microphone (a microphone icon in the address bar and in the browser tab). If neither is visible:

Open Chrome Settings → Privacy and security → Site settings → Microphone.
Find your Avatar’s URL and change its microphone permission to Allow.

3. Confirm the correct microphone is selectedFollow Google’s Chrome microphone setup guide to verify that the right input device is selected and that it is working correctly.

How do I add a YouTube video with automatic playback to my project?

Use the Show Website element in Plural to embed a YouTube video that starts playing as soon as it is displayed.

Get the YouTube embed URL

Open the YouTube video, click Share → Embed, and copy only the URL from the src attribute of the <iframe> code (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/embed/h6I5UOsQNEI). Ignore any ?controls=0 suffix.

Add a Show Website element

In your Plural flow, drag a connection from the previous element and select Show Website from the menu.

Paste the URL with autoplay parameters

In the sidebar, paste the embed URL and append the autoplay parameters:

Autoplay muted (recommended):

https://www.youtube.com/embed/h6I5UOsQNEI?autoplay=1&mute=1&enablejsapi=1

Autoplay with sound (blocked by most browsers):

https://www.youtube.com/embed/h6I5UOsQNEI?autoplay=1&mute=0&enablejsapi=1

Complete the element configuration

Adjust the display duration and any other Show Website settings to match your flow.

Most modern browsers — including Chrome, Firefox, and Safari — block autoplay with sound. Use mute=1 to ensure the video starts reliably.

I can't display my website inside a Website element — why?

Your website is most likely blocking itself from being embedded in an <iframe> for security reasons. This is controlled by two HTTP headers:

X-Frame-Options — can be set to DENY, SAMEORIGIN, or ALLOW-FROM.
Content Security Policy (CSP) — the frame-ancestors directive controls which domains may embed the page.

Ask your web admin to make one of the following changes:

Header	Change required
`X-Frame-Options`	Set to `ALLOW-FROM https://go.plural.io`
CSP `frame-ancestors`	Add `https://go.plural.io` — e.g. `frame-ancestors 'self' https://go.plural.io;`

These changes are made in the web server configuration (Apache, Nginx) or in the application code (PHP, Node.js).

Allowing a website to be embedded in an iframe has security implications. Only allow embedding when necessary and after reviewing the risks with your web admin.

How do I set up the Humanizing printing service?

The Humanizing printing service allows your Avatar flow to trigger badge or label printing via an API call. This is a paid service — contact your Humanizing representative to obtain the necessary files.Prerequisites

Install Python

Download the latest Python installer from python.org/downloads. Run the installer and make sure to check Add python.exe to PATH. Verify the installation by running python --version in a terminal.

Install the printing service

Unpack the service files

Extract the .zip file you received from Humanizing to C:\printing_service.

Install Python dependencies

Open a terminal in that folder and run:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Create a self-signed certificate

In the same terminal, run:

openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -nodes -out cert.pem -keyout key.pem -days 365

Press Enter at each prompt to accept the defaults.

Add the service to Windows startup

Create a file called start_service.bat with the following content and place it in your Windows Startup folder (shell:startup):

@echo off
start "" pythonw "C:\printing_service\printingServer.py"
exit

Test the service

Restart your PC, then open Chrome and navigate to https://127.0.0.1/. Accept the security warning if prompted. You should see a confirmation message that the service is running.

Use the printing service in a Plural flowAdd an API Call element to your flow and configure it as follows:

Endpoint URL: http://127.0.0.1/print
Method: POST
Body (Raw JSON):

{
  "htmlContent": "<html><body><h1>Hello, World!</h1></body></html>",
  "printerName": "HP Printer 1",
  "width_mm": 50,
  "height_mm": 72
}

Replace printerName with the exact name of your printer as it appears in Windows.A 200 OK response means the badge printed successfully. A 500 response indicates an error.