UBIC, Rappa and Vstone Partner to Develop Kibiro Personal Robot

UBIC, Inc. ("UBIC" or "the Company"), a leading provider of Asian-language eDiscovery solutions and services; Rappa, Inc. ("Rappa"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of UBIC engaged in digital marketing; and Vstone Co., Ltd., a company engaged in the research, development, manufacture, and sales of omnidirect sensors, robots, and other electronic machines, announced today that they are co-developing a personal robot called Kibiro.

Kibiro will be designed and manufactured by Vstone, and will be equipped with UBIC's artificial-intelligence (AI) technology. Rappa will be responsible for developing specific business applications. UBIC and Vstone are developing Kibiro as an AI-based personal robot that will enrich people's lives.

Kibiro, approximately 28.5 cm tall and 14 cm wide, is the right height to communicate with people when it stands on a table. Kibiro can engage in conversation using microphone and speaker, and is also capable of facial recognition thanks to its built-in camera. The robot is programmed to communicate and behave in a cute and friendly manner. Moreover, Kibiro can be connected with KIBIT, an AI engine developed by UBIC, and learn its users' behaviors and preferences through specialized applications, email and social networking services ("SNS"). Based on what it learns, Kibiro may make recommendations which appeal to users' known preferences, or unexpected recommendations that its user might never have otherwise conceived. When installed in public or commercial places, Kibiro may be connected with a suitable database to provide knowledge and information useful for visitors of that place.

Kibiro will be sold through Rappa to private companies and public organizations starting in the first half of fiscal year 2016 and to households starting in the second half of the year.

Features of Kibiro:

User-friendly design and functions of Kibiro

Kibiro will be designed and manufactured by Vstone, which has an excellent record of achievement in the creation of robots for consumers. With its simple design, approachable shape, and flexible body, neck and arm movements, Kibiro can make a variety of friendly gestures. Capable of facial recognition thanks to its built-in camera, Kibiro can adapt its responses to the person with whom it is communicating. It uses its built-in microphone and speaker to engage in simple conversation. When Kibiro hits the market for households, several costumes will be made available so that a personal touch can be added to the robot based on individual preferences.

Connection with UBIC's KIBIT AI engine

One prominent feature of Kibiro is that it can be connected via the Internet to KIBIT, an AI engine developed by UBIC. KIBIT has been developed based on UBIC's achievements in the litigation and business support, healthcare and marketing fields. With only a small amount of text data (teaching data) concerning a person, the KIBIT AI engine can understand subtle elements of human behavior and personality (tacit knowledge, judgment and sensations).

If Kibiro is fed with data on users' interests and preferences concerning clothes, foods, housing, and other interests, the robot's understanding of their preferences improves, making it possible to recommend restaurants that match their preferences when they are searching for dining spots, for example. Furthermore, data on preferences concerning restaurants can be used in other fields, such as recommending hotels or books that may interest Kiribro's users. Moreover, by expanding its search for useful information based on its understanding of users' preferences, Kibiro may pleasantly surprise users by recommending things that match underlying preferences they had not considered before.

Long-distance communication using specialized applications, email and SNS

Communication with Kibiro can be conducted not only through verbal conversation but also through various other means. UBIC plans to provide Kibiro with the ability to work with specialized applications for smart phones, tablet computers and SNS. Words that are difficult for Kibiro to understand through voice recognition may be sent to the robot as text data to achieve understanding. If connected with an SNS, Kibiro automatically accumulates data concerning users as they use the service and presents recommendations even when they are away from home. Such long-distance communication will enable users to utilize Kibiro anytime and anywhere.

Welcoming visitors at public facilities and commercial spaces

UBIC aims to have Kibiro installed at public facilities, including museums, libraries, tourist centers, restaurants, bookstores, department stores, hospitals, hotels, educational facilities and various other places where a large amount of data is stored and accumulated or where people spend long periods of time. In the future, UBIC hopes to develop a system to provide information suited to users from databases via Kibiro and will cultivate a broad range of users through Rappa.

Basic specifications*

KIBIT

KIBIT is an AI engine developed by UBIC. KIBIT is a word coined by combining "kibi," a Japanese word meaning "subtlety," and "bit," the smallest unit of digital information, in order to indicate an AI capable of understanding the subtle elements of human behavior and personality.