Beyond Alexa and Siri
Personal assistants have become a pretty common resource, especially on mobile devices. Alexa, Cortana, Google Now and Siri set the pace in that market, but a Japanese project called Gatebox seeks to take the concept of "assistant" to a completely different level, with a platform based on anime characters that wake users up, encourage them during the workday, and welcome them back when they return, among other things. In essence, digital girlfriends.
If I remember correctly, I think the movie is called Her, with Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson. I don't know the exact details, but the general plot is about a man falling in love with an artificial intelligence. Come to think of it, there's a Black Mirror episode that follows a similar line, that is, replacing flesh-and-blood people with digital avatars. If there is a country that is exploring that substitution to the fullest, it's Japan. Looking closely at the social problems affecting the Asian country, one of the most striking and at the same time most worrying is what some experts call chronic loneliness. In fact, we can now comfortably say that there is an entire industry around loneliness in Japan, and it gives rise to things like Gatebox.
Live With Your Favorite Anime Character
The official page says it all: Gatebox gives its users the possibility of living with their favorite anime character. For now it's just one, "Azuma Hikari", which by the way already has its own portal where we find hobbies, culinary specialties, and other general data (20 years old, 1.58 meters tall). However, it's obvious that Gatebox will add more characters, and with the right licenses, some could be extracted directly from animated series and films. As expected, Gatebox can deliver relevant information to face the day (the weather report is a good example), but its presentation video explores the human factor, or rather, the desire to be accompanied.
Technical Specs and Price
From a technical standpoint, the Gatebox is first and foremost a 720p projector that works with a transparent screen, thus creating a kind of pseudo-hologram. The complete unit weighs five kilograms, has WiFi, Bluetooth and infrared connectivity, includes a camera, microphone, motion sensors, light, humidity and temperature, touch support, an HDMI port and stereo speakers. The pre-sale process began last Wednesday. There are a total of 300 units available, with shipping limited to Japan and the United States. The price? 298,000 yen, something like €2,400.
