Watch: A new home assistant in Japan is a holographic woman named Azuma, who lives in a jar
She texts you, welcomes you back home, and says things like ‘missed you darling’.
While Google and Amazon opted for device-like home assistants – Home and Echo, respectively – Japanese company Gatebox Labs has decided to do things a little differently. Its home assistant is a 20-year-old holographic woman named Azuma Hikari.
Azuma, who looks like an anime character, lives inside a jar called Gatebox, which is equipped with a screen and projector to bring her to life, as well as microphones, cameras, and sensors, which can sense both motion and temperatures.
Unlike her predecessors, Azuma is more of a humanoid, who engages her users in friendly, personal conversations, saying things like “Missed you darling” or “It may rain today. Take your umbrella with you. Hurry or you will be late.” She comes with advanced friendship capabilities, and can send messages throughout the day via an iOS or Android app, while also being able to control smart home equipment, set reminders, wake you up in the morning, and more.
Though Azuma is only available in Japanese so far, the makers are working on porting it into other languages too, as well as on developing the ability for her to hold verbal conversations. The latter will make it a great hit with singles or people who live alone – but only if they have more than $2,500 to shell out.