Hatsune Miku was the best known of the first wave of virtual characters. At first simply for viewing, newer virtual characters are becoming more deeply embedded in our everyday lives. You can have realistic conversations with Azuma Hikari, who lives inside a 50cm glass tube and acts as a home assistant. Computer generated Saya is easily mistaken for a real human girl thanks to her incredibly detailed construction – her head has 100,000 individual hand-drawn hairs, for example. Artificial intelligence with facial recognition functions equips Saya for possible roles in fields from tourist information to nursing homes.