The Navarrese studio Dr. Platypus and Ms. Wombat presented ‘Emotional Films’, a pioneering project that uses Artificial Intelligence to adapt the audiovisual content a viewer sees based on their emotional responses. The initiative has been developed by a consortium led by the company Kakuru Sam, with the participation of the technology corporation ADItech, the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the University of Navarra (UN) and the Resource Centre for Educational Equity in Navarra (CREENA).
Five years ago, when Artificial Intelligence (AI) still sounded like science fiction, a project was launched in Pamplona. That project aimed to create a hitherto unheard-of technology. It is a type of audiovisual format that is not only seen, but also sees the viewer, and adapts its narration in real time to the fears, sadness, happiness, surprises or anger that the viewer feels.
Said and done. The animation film and video game studio Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat led a consortium to create the innovative Emotional Films film format, which is able to “evolve the story in real time based on the viewer’s emotions” thanks to artificial intelligence (AI). In this way, the concept is “so flexible and personalised that it is impossible for the same content to be repeated if a viewer sees a product with Emotional Films technology twice, or a hundred thousand times,” explained Carlos Fernández, designer of the initiative and CEO of Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat studios.
Emotional Films had a budget of around 2 million euros and was financed by the Department of Economic and Business Development of the Government of Navarra, through the call for Aid for Strategic R&D Projects. It also involved “more than forty multidisciplinary researchers” from entities as diverse as the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), the University of Navarra (UNAV), the ADItech foundation and Creena (Special Education Resource Centre of the Education Department of the Government of Navarra). The Navarra Audiovisual Cluster (Clavna) also collaborated in the initiative.
According to the company, its development has a complex architecture composed of eight sophisticated interconnected AI models, huge databases and other technologies, which allow “generating a unique experience, self-generated in real time from the cloud and reactive to the viewer’s emotions”. For this, Emotional Films has already received several awards. In 2020 it was the second best valued in the call for Strategic R&D projects of the Government of Navarra. And it was awarded one of the runner-up prizes at the Science Ekaitza scientific congress, with Nobel Prize winner George G. Smoot and Monty Python John Clease as members of the event’s international jury.
Source: Diario de Navarra: Diario de Navarra