At CES 2020, Samsung announced NEON, a product which it calls an Artificial Human. A description on the official website says it is a “computationally created virtual being that looks and behaves like us”. Now, it has been revealed that NEON will be available on smartphones before the end of the year.
The announcement was made on Twitter by Pranav Mistry, the CEO of STAR (Samsung Technology and Advanced Research) Labs. The computer scientist had shared photos of NEON Frame, the life-size immersion portal that “brings NEON into the real world”.
here we go.
shhhhhh…. confidential pic.twitter.com/LfsYpQtxti— Pranav Mistry (@pranavmistry) November 25, 2020
Then a question from Ice Universe, the popular Samsung leaker asking if NEON can be used on phones prompted the CEO to reveal that it is already available on his phone in testing and should be available before Xmas.
It is already on my phone. In Testing phase. You get to see it before Xmas.
— Pranav Mistry (@pranavmistry) November 25, 2020
NEON View is the version of the virtual assistant coming to mobile devices. The assistant will be able to learn skills and form memories, and unlike current AI assistants, this one has a face and will be able to converse and show emotions like a human.
NEON can be programmed to do a variety of things. According to details on the official website, NEON can be a teacher, a yoga instructor, a narrator, a reporter and so much more. A CNET interview early this year with Pranav Mistry said that the virtual assistant won’t be a replacement to Bixby or any other AI assistant available at the moment. It won’t come shipped with Samsung phones either even STAR Labs the business is funded by Samsung.
It is not very clear how NEON will work on devices but more details should surface when we see it make its appearance on mobile before the end of the year.
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