The future is apparently here. And it's creepier than we ever imagined—even when we were playing around with tethering Teddy Ruxpin to the Internet. A Japanese company called Vinclu ("a company that makes crazy things and supports crazy people") is now taking pre-orders from Japan and the United States for a new interactive, artificial-intelligence driven home automation system. Called Gatebox, the new Internet-of-Things product takes Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, Spike Jonze's film Her , and the "holographic" anime characters of Vocaloid concerts to their unified natural conclusion.
Wait, what?
Gatebox, priced at ¥321,840 (about $2,700 US), is squarely targeted at young lonely salarymen and all brands of anime-obsessed otaku—promising the experience of "living with your favorite character." The size of a home coffee-maker, with a footprint no larger than a sheet of A4 printer paper, the device's main feature is a clear projection tube that displays a computer-animated avatar for the AI's "character." Vinclu apparently is planning multiple possible personalities for Gatebox—which, as part of the device's backstory, is a gateway to the dimension the character lives in.
A company like this could release the first strong AI product (kawaii slave?).
Beginner's definition of "waifu" for the uninitiated.
Update: Another article indicates that "[There's also] HDMI and PC inputs to allow the owner to make their own modifications and create their own characters."
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday December 20 2016, @08:18PM
I wonder how long it will be after they release the product that someone figures out how to hack it and change the model/personality/animations of the AI?
And you just know somebody at MS is thinking of something like it for Cortana.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday December 20 2016, @08:28PM
I did the tiniest amount of research and found this on an alternate article [newatlas.com]:
It looks like they are not even trying to create a walled garden here. Makes you wonder how you would go about overriding the defaults. They have a voice actor, but I assume the hobbyist would use Vocaloid with a text script...
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 20 2016, @08:41PM
http://gatebox.ai/tech/ [gatebox.ai]
Specs list it as having Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, and Ethernet. And an infrared sensor and 3.5mm headphone socket.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday December 20 2016, @11:54PM
Thank you for the extra links.
I might just get one of these :) The cost is about what I would spend anyway on parts, and this one already has the software and animation programming done.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."