CJ HelloVision is planning to release voice recognition artificial intelligence (AI) robot called ‘IT Butler’ and this will be the first time when a cable TV company is releasing AI robot.
CJ HelloVision has developed ‘IT Butler’ and is planning to release it soon. At the earliest, it is going to make release of IT Butler official sometime during this month.
CJ HelloVision formed a consortium with Korean AI companies and robot manufacturers before developing IT Butler. CJ HelloVision plans to implement functions that enable IT Butler to take actions in advance regarding users’ requests by extracting and analyzing Big Data that has been accumulated.
For example IT Butler will turn on appropriate home shopping channels that are selling lowest-priced pants to a user who wants to purchase pants.
“IT Butler’s ability to recognize voice has taken major step forward and it will be possible for it to recognize users’ natural language and communicate with them.” said a representative for CJ HelloVision. “We are preparing a function that enables IT Butler to make recommendations first even when a user does not say anything.”
Unlike current AI robots such as SK Telecom’s ‘NUGU’ and KT’s ‘GiGa Genie’, CJ HelloVision has attempted to differentiate its robot by utilizing robot’s mobility.
For example when a person orders IT Butler to turn on a TV in the living room, it moves on its own to recognize the location of the TV and turns on TV by shooting beam like a remote.
It will be interesting to see whether this will signal the start of diversification of markets for AI devices that are centered on speakers with robots.
Not only is CJ HelloVision planning to use IT Butler for robot’s characteristics such as home monitoring but it is also planning to expand its function as a communication hub that accumulates and utilizes Big Data such as TV, mobile device, and web information. Its plan is to combine variety of its daily cultural values in shopping , music, and distribution with IT Butler and make user’s lifestyle and IT Butler as one body.
“Our goal is to develop world’s best social robot platform technology and to provide AI services based on daily lives.” said a representative for CJ HelloVision regarding the goals of development of IT Butler. This indicates that CJ HelloVision will continue to add and upgrade IT Butler’s functions after releasing IT Butler.
CJ HelloVision is also planning to introduce its chatbot which will be the first time for a cable TV company. This chatbot will be based on a method where its algorithm answers to questions that are frequently asked by a user. Besides this, it has also set up a plan to continuously expand applicable range of AI such as recommending broadcasting contents based on UX (User Experience).
Staff Reporter Kim, Jihye | jihye@etnews.com