Meet Millie, the First Context-Aware A.I.
Say hello to Millie, the world’s first context-aware digital companion created by TwentyBN. Powered by advanced computer vision, Millie is a life-size helper who interacts with you by observing and understanding the context you’re in and what you’re doing. She aims to be your ultimate assistant offering a level of personal care across industries, from retail greeter, product promoter to your own personal coach for enhanced skills-based learning.
Eager to meet Millie? Then come say hello her at NeurIPS 2018 in Montréal (December 3–7), CES 2019 in Las Vegas (January 7–11) and the NRF Retail Show 2019 in NYC (January 13–15).
Millie’s vision capabilities are trained on millions of human engagements generated on TwentyBN’s proprietary crowd-acting platform. The character can take on many forms depending on the context, with customizable behavior and aesthetics. For the retail case, her friendly demeanor reflects extensive research into the most likeable, assistive personalities.
One Avatar, Many Applications
In 2018, holiday sales in the US alone are predicted to reach over $1 trillion, 87% of which will be sales conducted in-store. But brick and mortar retail is engaged in heavy competition with e-commerce. It is eager to offer unique in-store shopping experiences, leveraging new technologies to build on its unique advantages. Millie is here to help.
Acting as a reliable sales assistant, Millie provides retail customers with uniquely interactive, memorable experiences offering real utility. Place her in front of merchandise and she will showcase products, encouraging customers to touch them — a proven strategy to increase sales conversion. She can also drive foot traffic as a friendly, effective greeter. By making in-store shopping personalized and enjoyable for consumers she fills a critical void while capturing sales opportunities for business owners.
We’re in the beginnings of Millie’s journey towards a fully humanlike AI. As her presence in the world expands, both her skillset and human understanding are set to increase exponentially. In the near future she’ll be capable of acting as your workspace assistant, dance instructor or even your child’s ideal learning partner.
But Millie isn’t just applicable to enterprise cases — she has the potential to fulfill an emotional role for the lonely and vulnerable. According to a WTO study, there are over 125 million people globally aged 80 or older, underscoring the fact that our world is ageing faster than ever before. Elderly care is already a challenge in developed countries such as Germany and Japan, and will spread to emerging markets like China in the coming decades. For those in need, Millie offers both companionship and world-class care.
Technology Designed with Empathy
One side effect of our recent move towards online commerce and communication is the reduction of human contact. Supermarkets have rushed to install cashierless checkouts, removing some of the last vestiges of in-store human contact. At home, despite the instant communication of social media many of us are feeling more isolated than ever. TwentyBN’s mission is to design interfaces operating on the unconscious principles that exist in human-to-human interaction. As we proceed into the next machine age this approach is essential to preserving our humanity. Without it, we run the risk of having our behavior fundamentally altered to suit the needs of technology. Millie is an essential first step on this path.
Meet Millie at the Following Conferences
Are you excited about Millie? We would love to introduce you to her in person. If you are at NeurIPS in Montréal this week, please stop by our booth and interact with her! To learn more about Millie and what she will be able to do next, please reach out to us.
Not at NeurIPS? You can also meet us at CES 2019 in Las Vegas (January 7–11) and NRF Retail Show 2019 in New York City(January 13–15). Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to stay tuned.
