Here is the source: A virtual receptionist who can read the emotions of visitors and make the appropriate verbal responses has been launched in Japan. According to the Kyodo news agency, the US$15,000 virtual receptionist is is a program residing on a PC at the reception desk. She appears as a woman dressed in a uniform on a monitor, and for now can converse in Japanese and English. Made by start-up firm A.G.I. Corp, the report said that a camera first picks up the appearance of a visitor, which causes the receptionist to greet the person. Then microphones pick up the visitor's voice and the voice recognition software attempts to analyze what the person is looking for and give the appropriate response, such as referring them to the department or person they are looking for. But the sensitive microphones of the system can also pick up emotional cues, such as anger. "When an angry customer comes to complain about something, the virtual receptionist can quickly understand the person's feeling and respond in a sincere and apologetic manner," said the Kyodo report. The next version of the software will allow the receptionist to make small talk with waiting visitors, A.G.I. told Kyodo. The firm expects to sell 1,000 units of the system this year. ( Source: <http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/personaltech/0,39001147,39122466,00.htm>
-----Original Message----- From: pete [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 11:25 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] future of work On Wednesday, April 02, 2003, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> quoted: > future of work??? > > THE HUMAN TOUCH WITH A VIRTUAL RECEPTIONIST > A virtual receptionist who can read the emotions of visitors and make the > appropriate verbal responses has been launched in Japan. According to the > Kyodo news agency, the US$15,000 virtual receptionist is is a program > residing on a PC at the reception desk. You know, I'd be very suspicious of articles like this at this time of year. This wouldn't have been first posted yesterday morning, would it? -PV _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
