Samsung uncovered the Project NEON at the 53rd edition of Consumer Electronics Show aka CES 2020, Las Vegas. Developed by Samsung subsidiary STAR Labs, the NEON is a digital human simulation, which is able to visually look as well as express emotions like a human. The STAR Labs calls it an “artificial human”.
The Core R3 platform, i.e. Reality, Realtime, and Responsive are what powers the NEON. While the SPECTRA takes care of its intelligence, learning, emotions, and memory, the concept is that the NEON could be used as an artificial service representative or a caretaker.
Therefore, one can license or subscribe to the NEON as a service representative, a financial advisor, a healthcare provider, or a concierge aka caretaker in the days to come. Furthermore, NEON will be able to work as TV anchors, spokespeople, movie actors, or just be your friend or a companion.
STAR Labs also acclaims that the NEON can be implemented as synthetic actors in films. Well, that’s something to look after.
More about the NEON, Samsung showed several teasers and scenarios at the CES, some of which were already leaked on Reddit prior to the announcement. But turns out that all the videos were made with actors on camera, not the ones generated with the help of the computer. At least, that’s what they were saying it to be. So, it’s still skeptical regarding what the actual NEON simulations would really look like and act.
Anyway, STAR Labs also says that the NEON is not an assistant powered by an AI technology. Therefore, you can’t really use it to ask for news, weather, or anything such. However, it’s capable enough to speak in several languages and carry out conversations. The company even asserts that the NEON can pass the Turing test, i.e. the conversation and interaction will be indistinguishable to that with a human. STAR Labs says it unique, individual human and never an exact replica.
The project NEON ‘beta’ is said to get delivered to a number of partners by the end of 2020. And for more, it looks like we really need to wait until the next CES 2021.
