AI Companion Robot Pororot

What would it be like if AI robots were your friends? This is no longer a story from a sci-fi movie. (SOV) “I’m your Pororot.” Let’s learn more about Korea’s first AI robot of an animated character, prepping us for a future in which humans coexist with AI robots. On the 11th earlier this month, the Presidential Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee was officially launched. And there, a child-like and pure voice caught everyone’s attention. (SOV) “Who are you? What’s your name?” (SOV) “I’m Pororot, the children’s president.” (SOV) “Are you a president as well?” (SOV) “Yes, I’m President Pororo of the children.” It was none other than Pororot, Korea’s first AI robot modeled after an animation character. The name Pororot is a combination of the popular character “Pororo” and “robot,” and it was created by a new startup company in Korea. (Korean) "Pororot is a combination of “Pororo” and “robot.” It’s modeled after one of the most beloved Korean native characters, which I believe is an innovative attempt never seen." The robot’s main feature is a speech recognition and synthesis engine, which is based on machine learning to communicate with children and also convert texts into Pororo’s voice. As a result, Pororot can understand and interact with children, improving their language skills. (SOV) “Can you sing your theme song?” (SOV) “I will sing the theme song.” (SOV) “Wow, it’s Pororo (Korean) "Pororot can converse with children, read books, play music or play simple games like word chain, which are some of its most basic functions. Also, it features some educational functions, including a word-guessing game for children based on pictures." Based on that feature, Pororot can assist children with academic studies, (SOV) “Airplain.” (SOV) “That’s right. It’s an airplane. You are doing great ” (“ Airplain . ) allow parents to input text for Pororo to speak using a feature called Avata Talk, and help parents better communicate with their children. (SOV) “Would you like to eat some carrots?” (SOV) “Go to bed early so we can play more tomorrow morning.” (Korean) "We believe the most fundamental function of robots is to keep people company. Pororot can be more of a friend than assistant to children needing care. Thus, it perfectly fulfills its core function." Then, how was Pororot developed in the first place? It resulted from over 2 years of hard work by Korea’s top AI experts with chief marketing officer Han Jeong-seok and engineer turned entrepreneur Jang Young-seung as the driving forces. (Korean) "I predicted that people would start using robots instead of computers at home within a few years. I saw the immense potential and value of the robotics industry, and it motivated me to develop Pororot." There were, however, more obstacles to overcome even after the completion of the development. (Korean) "We had a hard time dealing with hardware issues because we had to meet a hardware expert whenever those issues occurred, which took a lot of time and effort." One of the toughest obstacles was indeed the fact that AI robots are not considered real-life applications just yet. Therefore, consumers weren’t keen to spend over $US1,000 just for an AI robot.