At CES 2024, global technology leader Lenovo, assistive technology nonprofit Scott Morgan Foundation, and AI-generated video innovator DeepBrain AI will, has unveiled a hyper-realistic AI avatar that specializes in preserving the voice, personality, and physical gestures of people with degenerative diseases. This groundbreaking avatar, created with DeepBrain AI technology and led by Lenovo, opens new avenues for applying generative AI to accessibility challenges and advances Lenovo’s vision of AI for all. Contribute to
As part of our ongoing collaboration with the Scott Morgan Foundation , Lenovo proposed developing an AI-powered avatar that goes beyond traditional speech synthesis and transforms communication and connection for people with severe disabilities. The foundation invited Erin Taylor, a 24-year-old woman recently diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease that commonly causes general paralysis, to demonstrate the concept of supportive communication. This was carried out on a trial basis.
Lenovo approached DeepBrain AI , a leader in next-generation avatars and a Lenovo AI innovator partner , to leverage its generative AI technology. The DeepBrain AI team, supported by Lenovo, captured detailed full-body footage of Taylor in a studio in California. This footage served as the basis for her new AI avatar, which offers 96 percent fidelity and was unveiled at CES 2024. Preview your avatar on YouTube.
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“This is a great example of the untapped potential of generative AI to empower individuals and build a more inclusive future, especially with visionary collaborators like this,” said Lenovo. said Scott Thies, vice president and general manager of HPC (high speed computing) and AI. “By leveraging our extensive solutions portfolio and in-house expertise, we are excited to reimagine possibilities and identify opportunities to help solve humanity’s greatest challenges.”
Lenovo‘s AI data scientists have also developed a prototype for a new predictive AI tool that speeds up text entry when traditional keyboards and text-to-speech techniques are unavailable, such as in patients with advanced ALS. This personal, on-device AI operates completely offline and leverages compressed large-scale language models (LLMs) to deliver the speed, reliability, and accuracy essential when communicating health information and other urgent needs. provide sex. This follows Lenovo’s approach to hybrid AI, which operates across public, private, and personal infrastructure models, announced at Tech World, an annual event held in October 2023.
Unlike common text prediction engines that provide a single suggestion, this novel AI solution provides multiple choices after each character is entered to better assist users.
The Scott Morgan Foundation and Lenovo’s AI experts are working to integrate predictive AI into the backend of the unified communications platform unveiled at CES . The platform combines avatars, an original circular keyboard optimized for eye tracking, and multimodal input that supports a wide range of physical abilities.
“Our vision is built on a commitment to securing the universal right to growth through technology,” said Andrew Morgan, CEO of the Scott Morgan Foundation. Masu. “AI is accelerating the work we started years ago, and our amazing collaborators are helping us completely change the accessibility landscape. , shining a light on what’s possible, not just for people with ALS, but for everyone.”
At CES, Avatar and related solutions were showcased using multiple Lenovo devices optimized for flexibility and unique strengths to harness the power of AI. This includes Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i premium consumer desktop PCs running AI avatars and high-performance Lenovo ThinkPad P1 mobile workstations running predictive text AI prototypes. The Scott Morgan Foundation’s circular keyboard and Irisbond’s eye-tracking technology were also tested directly at home by Taylor using a donated powerful and portable Lenovo Yoga 7i laptop. Lenovo also unveiled a suite of consumer and enterprise technologies at CES dedicated to unlocking the potential of AI for productivity and play .
DeepBrain AI’s avatar technology was originally developed to create generative AI humans, assistants, or versatile “twins” of celebrities, athletes, and other influencers, such as those showcased at Lenovo’s recent F1 event. I did. DeepBrain recognized then and there an opportunity to deploy its proprietary technology as an assistive technology.
DeepBrain AI provided Taylor with complementary access to the company’s AI studio, helping her create an almost unlimited stream of digital content.
“We are constantly amazed by how our partners and clients are coming up with new ways to use AI-generated video. Lenovo is forward-thinking about how to implement this technology as a component of their assistive technology platform. They shared our vision,” said Eric Jiang, CEO of DeepBrain AI. “Future developments in DeepBrain will make hyper-realistic avatars available to everyone.”
Taylor was diagnosed with ALS in the summer of 2023 after her symptoms worsened over a short period of time. Her career in botany, forestry, and related work in nature was abruptly interrupted, and she and her mother faced countless questions about the progression of her disease. This was especially shocking because the disease mainly affects people over 40.
“We were so shocked and at a loss and we are grateful that the Scott Morgan Foundation invited us to help create something new and shape our future,” said his mother, Lily. said Taylor, who lives in the Los Angeles suburbs. “This avatar is great, but what’s most important to me is how this technology can help change the lives of so many people facing ALS and other diseases, and how it shows how bright the future can be. It is about being.”
“We have no doubt that this proof-of-concept precursor will one day help shape even more incredible innovations,” Morgan said. “Our foundation is built on the dream that technology, especially AI, can break down severe obstacles and guarantee the right to create things, connect with others, and live life to the fullest. We are realizing this.”
SOURCE: BusinessWire
