Key Takeaways
1. SmartApe Tech addresses loneliness with its innovative device, the “World’s First Emotional AI Companion Device.”
2. Users can customize their companion by choosing from pre-made characters or uploading personal photos and voice clips.
3. The device engages users through conversation, empathy, and comfort, becoming more familiar over time.
4. Privacy is prioritized with features like “end-to-end encryption” and limited data collection, despite potential ethical concerns.
5. The device is available for crowdfunding on Kickstarter, with a special “Super Early Bird” price of $199.
SmartApe Tech is a new company that says it has found a way to tackle loneliness, which it calls “the epidemic we ignore.” With more than 17,000 search results on PubMed, it’s clear that loneliness is a real issue. Now, the company claims its technology is ready for the spotlight, or at least for crowdfunding.
An Innovative Companion
The device, titled the “World’s First Emotional AI Companion Device,” resembles a vertical MagSafe charger, but instead of a charging pad, it features a smartphone-like screen designed to show an artificial human friend. Users can select from a wide range of pre-made characters, or they can create a unique companion by uploading a photo and voice clip of someone they hold dear, even including long-gone celebrities.
Interacting with Your Companion
As the user engages with the “Companion,” it can converse, empathize, or offer comfort, becoming friendlier and more familiar over time, much like existing chatbots. Euvola’s gadget also includes features similar to those found in iPhones, such as proximity sensors and emotive speakers that come with ambient LED lighting. This means the device will spring to life and be ready for conversation whenever someone approaches it.
Privacy and Emotional Appeal
The company promises that the Companion will last a lifetime, along with its expanding memory, although they do offer a Euvola Premium package that guarantees this memory is “permanent & unlimited,” reminiscent of a certain episode from Black Mirror. Despite the potential ethical and mental health concerns regarding the use of this “True Empathy AI,” especially considering the hints at simulated intimacy, the start-up ensures user privacy through features like “end-to-end encryption” and limited data collection.
To tug at potential backers’ heartstrings, Euvola encourages them to get the device at its “Super Early Bird” price of $199, which is $100 less than the expected retail price, before the offer expires.
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