Technology can sometimes feel a bit cold. It's awe-inspiring, but can leave you feeling as though humans aren't top of the list of priorities.

NTT's Connected-AI system, which recently conducted a trial in which it monitored the health statistics of participants in Australia, is something new. It's cutting-edge technology, without a doubt, but also demonstrated that rarest of virtues: kindness. Visitors to the Upgrade 2024 event saw the ways in which Connected-AI focused on creating a kind and empathetic interaction between humans and machines.

At the heart of Connected-AI are tiny, unobtrusive sensors sitting in each room of trial users, just around 10 centimeters square. The sensors quietly monitor various environmental factors such as temperature, movement, vibration, humidity, and sound. Over time, they build a detailed model of the user's behaviors and health patterns. This continuous monitoring allows the system to detect subtle changes in behavior or health, often before the user is even aware of them. How much time the user spends in the bathroom. How often the user stands up and moves around. The total hours spent sitting, unmoving, on the couch. When an issue is identified, the system flags it, enabling early intervention and potentially preventing serious health problems. It's a system perfect for monitoring and improving the health of older users.

The vision behind Connected-AI is to create a sustainable healthcare model that promotes healthy and happy living for all. This involves not only taking care of those who have cared for us in the past, but also using technology to deliver sustainable care for everyone. By providing knowledge and actionable insights, Connected-AI aims to support medical workforces and care facilities, allowing clinicians and caregivers to focus on patient care, responding to the data coming from sensors to give the most appropriate care possible.

NTT's Connected-AI includes features such as personal reports, which offer individualized interactions to promote social engagement, and hobbies and conversations modules, which facilitate deep, personalized communication. Reminders help users develop productive habits, while checklists and pre-consultation tools streamline virtual visits and triage processes, reducing wait times at clinics.

A key, and cute, feature of Connected-AI is "Jibo," a robot that interacts with and looks after users. Jibo, equipped with face and voice recognition, personalizes interactions based on the user's preferences and needs. It can engage in meaningful conversations, provide companionship, and support users with personalized news, weather updates, and localized answers to questions. It's a real-life, not virtual, robot that offers a unique companionship experience, fostering a deeper emotional connection with users. And it has a wicked sense of humor.

Health monitoring features track key vitals and weight, with trends displayed to help users manage their health proactively. Advanced AI and deep learning algorithms make health monitoring possible and allow vital signs to be measured through a camera lens in less than 60 seconds. These metrics are captured in the Connected-AI Care Portal, providing historical and trending data that users can discuss interactively with Jibo. This proactive approach ensures that users remain connected to their health data, enabling more informed and timely decisions.

Connected-AI shows how advanced AI can be harnessed to create technology that is both efficient and empathetic. By integrating these innovations into daily life, we can usher in a new era of connected care that prioritizes the well-being of individuals in a deeply personal and compassionate manner.

NTT Group's technology is awesome and impressive, sure, but it's also focused on helping humans live happier and more productive lives.

For more details about the Upgrade 2024 event, please see this link:
https://ntt-research.com/upgrade/

Our first Upgrade 2024 article introduced the event and explained the peace of mind coming from our Autonomous Closed-Loop Intervention System (ACIS) technology. You can see it here.

The following article was all about beauty: the "Kirameki" display technology. Click here for details.

And the final article in the series? A vision focusing on humanity and what NTT Group can do to help society as a whole.

Upgrade 2024: Kindness through Technology

Daniel O'Connor

Daniel O'Connor joined the NTT Group in 1999 when he began work as the Public Relations Manager of NTT Europe. While in London, he liaised with the local press, created the company's intranet site, wrote technical copy for industry magazines and managed exhibition stands from initial design to finished displays.

Later seconded to the headquarters of NTT Communications in Tokyo, he contributed to the company's first-ever winning of global telecoms awards and the digitalisation of internal company information exchange.

Since 2015 Daniel has created content for the Group's Global Leadership Institute, the One NTT Network and is currently working with NTT R&D teams to grow public understanding of the cutting-edge research undertaken by the NTT Group.