Brave New World Inc. has announced that it will receive support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) to pursue a project aimed at bestowing the machines around us with their own unique personalities.
With funding and advisory services from NRC IRAP, the project’s goal is the digital simulation of an autonomous character that will respond to users in a lifelike manner. By listening to voice input along with the observation of objects in the environment, facial and body cues, Brave New World’s project seeks to bring to life the robots we were promised in the movies.
“The characters we have loved from our favorite film or shows are coming to life. When you watch your favorite sci-fi film, the robots, the computers, even some of the doors can talk to people and make their own decisions based on those conversations”, says CEO Mike Rizkalla. “LegendBots is a platform that will empower the next generation of developers, storytellers, and entrepreneurs. We will see an array of characters and companion robots servicing a wild range of needs that previously were thought of as make-believe. Our platform will inspire the next generation storyteller, to not just make a story captured in time, but one that continues and lives with the audience. ”
By developing a natural language interface of this kind, a wide variety of human to computer interactions can be made accessible to a broad number of users, regardless of computer proficiency, age, or ability. Applications can range from use in gaming environments through to assistive machines that may be able to fetch items in a room for persons with restricted mobility. Addition of a “personality” to the machine’s interface will seek to bring an experience to the user that encourages continued interaction with the machine and allows the software to better understand the user’s intentions the longer this interaction continues.
Rizkalla adds, “Working with the NRC IRAP has been a fantastic experience. We are very fortunate to work with such a high-caliber team. Their support and contribution to this project will enable us to conduct high-risk, high-reward research that vastly deepens the development of emotional intelligence of machines.”
Brave New World is a future tech company leveraging emerging platforms to create the products of tomorrow. We have a Business Leaders unit, a Creative department, and an Emerging Tech department (Robotics / IoT, AI / Machine Learning for large-scale digital platforms and XR). We co-invest in our partners and support leaders who build the products of the future.
If you would like more information on this topic, please contact Mike Rizkalla, [email protected], 902-405-3030.