Augmented reality (AR) has gained tremendous influence across multiple industry verticals in recent years. From healthcare and academics to heavy industries, many sectors are now using AR to boost their training and learning objectives. It is no surprise that the volume of AR glasses sold worldwide will jump from 340,000 (2017) to 3,716,000 (2018), showing an increase of 10x. By 2022, this number is expected to reach 22,801,000.
Among the different use cases, there is an interesting application that not many may be aware of. Yes, we are talking about how AR blends with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to come up with innovative products. One such innovative product was launched by Magic Leap, a popular AR company.
Some features about Magic Leap’s Mica
Magic Leap’s Mica goes far beyond a regular prototype of a voice assistant. She has a visual avatar that you can interact with. Users can interact with her the same way they interact with a human. This is driven primarily by the AI capabilities embedded within the AR solution. Mica can make eye contact, smile, laugh, or tilt her head when she is interacting with users. All the user has to do is put on the AR glasses to start interacting with her. Her personality is termed as an ‘avatar’.
The best part is how the avatar is able to mimic real-life human behavior in a digital environment. So if the user tends to move to close to Mica, she would instinctively back up. This is a common reaction for an individual who doesn’t want his/ her personal space invaded.
What do experts say?
Experts suggest that Mica has the potential to make rapid inroads into various domains and business applications – ranging from education and retail to healthcare. The avatar’s incredible potential to interact in a near-human capacity can have massive implications for the society at large.
With its AI-based machine learning competencies, it can also ‘learn’ intelligently from past behavior or historical data. So if you are looking for recommendations on latest songs to be added to your playlist, Mica can sift through your music history, learn about the preference for type/ genre of song and then recommend the best possible match. She can also act as a value enabler in IOT based connected home ecosystem, by turning on or off lights or smart speakers.
(Read Also: Augmented Reality-based HUD)
What does the future store for Mica?
The development team behind Mica are satisfied with the human experience in spatial computing they receive from Mica’s interactions. This will help them improve the range of functionalities integrated within Mica to go further its present capabilities. As more and more devices keep connecting with each other, the AI functions can be augmented to improve the learning and thus add value to the range of applications that avatars like Mica can provide. The company will also throw open the Magic Leap platform for developers to build and deploy similar assistants for specific requirements.
