Smart homes are getting one step closer to reality, thanks to this crowdfunded AI home console. The fact that it interacts with humans and intends to change their mood makes EmoSPARK a quite nice virtual companion.
Unlike other products that intend to change your mood by tightening the connection between you and your smartphone/tablet/computer, EmoSPARK also adds your friends to the equation. This real-life companion cube does more than just measuring your emotions and making activity suggestions based on the results. It actually promises to radically change the way you use your smartphone, tablet and TV, as well as the way you play games.
EmoSPARK relies on face detection technology to identify you and your emotional state. It then creates an emotional profile graph, and if things don’t look right, the cube breaks the silence, either via your smartphone or via the home console itself. The device makes suggestions when it thinks you are bored, brings you the latest notifications from the social networks you’re connected to, and can even act as a timer when you want to cook and don’t have a watch handy. The best thing of all? It can track multiple people simultaneously, acknowledges when a new person enters its visual field and can even interact with the ones it does now know yet. On one hand, this project is definitely interesting and revolutionary, while on the other hand, it may seem a tad bit creepy. Because of that, it’s probably better to place the cube in a room that’s empty during the night.
As I mentioned before, this is a crowdfunded project. EmoSPARK’s Indiegogo campaign still had 6 days to go at press time, but the company had already exceeded its $100,000 goal by 23 percent, so there’s no doubt that the intelligent cube will enter mass production soon. If you still want to get one while it’s hot, you’ll have to contribute $249. The devices are expected to be delivered in April, which means that manufacturing these things really doesn’t take a lot of time.
Remember The Sims, the life simulation video game where you tried to help a virtual character evolve, while also changing his or her mood several times a day? Well, I’ve got some bad news for you, sunshine. You’re the Sim now! Watch the following video if you still don’t believe me.
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