NVISO and PANASONIC sign license agreement to embed Human Behaviour AI in companion robots

NVISO signs a multi-year license agreement with PANASONIC for deployment of its Human Behavioural Analytics AI software solution in the PANASONIC Companion Robot NICOBO

Lausanne, Switzerland – March 15, 2022 – nViso SA (NVISO), the leading Human Behavioural Analytics AI company, is pleased to announce it has signed a production license agreement with Panasonic for the deployment of NVISO’s Human Behaviour AI Apps for the Panasonic NICOBO companion robot1 . The license includes the real-time deep learning-based AI Apps for face tracking, head pose recognition, facial recognition, and emotion recognition. These AI Apps are specifically designed for low-power and low-memory companion robot hardware platforms enabling “always-on” operation without requiring an internet connection.

The global market for Companion Robots was valued at USD 1.98 billion in 2020 and according to Mordor Intelligence is expected to reach USD 11.24 billion by 2026, registering a CAGR of 34.34% during the period of 2021-20262.Companion robots are designed to interact naturally with humans, with the ability to perceive and respond to a user’s mental state, behaviours and commands. With these capabilities they can assist in combating loneliness and detecting depression along with helping in keeping people healthy at home through the remote monitoring of vital signs. This is achieved through visual comprehension and NVISO’s human behavioural analytics AI systems have the capabilities to deliver this. NVISO’s solutions do this through its range of AI Apps providing visual observation, perception and semantic reasoning capabilities, the results of which can be used in identifying issues, in decision making processes and in supporting autonomous “human like” interactions.

Examples of these AI Apps provide the analysis of core signals of human behaviour such as facial expressions, emotions, identity, head pose, gaze, gestures, activities, and the identification of objects with which users interact. These AI Apps can be optimised for typically resource constrained low power and low-cost processing

platforms demanded by battery operated consumer products. Furthermore, NVISO AI Apps can be easily configured to suit any camera system for optimal performance in terms of distance and camera angle, and thanks to NVISO’s large scale proprietary human behaviour databases NVISO’s AI Apps are robust to real-world imaging conditions as often found in consumer homes across the world. Unlike cloud-based solutions, NVISO’s solutions do not require information to be sent off-device for processing elsewhere so user privacy and safety can be protected.

“Over the last two years we have worked with Panasonic’s development team to fulfil a vision to help people live at home healthier and happier through empathic intelligent devices. Our engineering team has delivered an excellent AI solution to meet the demanding power/cost/performance needs of high-volume edge-based consumer processing platforms required by manufacturers such as Panasonic”, said Tim Llewellynn, CEO of NVISO, “For several years, we have been focusing on partnerships and projects to integrate Visual Intelligence into deep learning accelerated hardware enabling breakthrough capabilities at mass production price points. Conclusion of this production license agreement with Panasonic provides additional evidence for the strong demand we are experiencing for the integration of advanced Human Behavioural Analytics technology into edge-based systems for a wide range of applications ranging from consumer products through to medical devices and autonomous automotive systems”

About NVISO, NVISO is an Artificial Intelligence company founded in 2009 and headquartered at the Innovation Park of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. Its mission is to help teach machines to understand people and their behavior to make autonomous machines safe, secure, and personalized for humans. As leader in human behavioral AI, it provides robust embedded software solutions that can sense, comprehend, and act upon human behavior in real-world environments deployed at the deep edge. It achieves this through real-time perception and observation of people and objects in contextual situations combined with the reasoning and semantics of human behavior based on trusted scientific research. NVISO’s technology is made accessible through ready-to-use AI solutions addressing Smart Mobility and Smart Health and Living applications (in-cabin monitoring systems, health assessments, and companion robot sensing) with a key focus on the deep and extreme edge with ultra-low power processing capabilities. With a singular focus on how to apply the most advanced and robust technology to industry and societal problems that matter, NVISO’s solutions help advance human potential through more robust and rich human machine interactions. 

About PANASONIC, Panasonic Corporation is a global leader developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B sectors. The company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2018, operates 522 subsidiaries and 69 associated companies worldwide and reported consolidated net sales of 6,698.8 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2021. Committed to pursuing new value through collaborative innovation, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for customers. Learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global

1. https://news.panasonic.com/global/stories/2021/88701.html 2. https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/social-robots-market

お問い合わせ先

NVISO MOBILE EVK

Please complete this form to receive purchasing instructions via email for the NVISO Mobile EVK.

REQUEST SDK

REQUEST SDK

DOWNLOAD WHITEPAPER