Anik met Professor Pascale Fung at HKUST, where they were both doing research into using computer algorithms to detect human emotions and moods. Anik's dream was to bring his research to life by creating something that could interact with users on a day to day basis, and with this goal in mind, he joined forces with Professor Fung and several HKUST graduates to form EMOS.AI. The team developed Moodbox, the world's first emotionally intelligent speaker.
Moodbox is a beautifully crafted speaker with music and light, powered by emotionally intelligent software. It uses machine-learning algorithms to classify music into different mood categories, along with sophisticated AI to understand human speech and emotions. It always pays attention to what users are saying and doing, as well as the time of day and the weather. Moodbox then suggests music and lighting that corresponds to the user's mood at that particular moment.
Anik and his colleagues first obtained funding for Moodbox from HKUST through the Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU) as well as from angel investors sourced by Professor Fung. They then turned to crowdfunding and decided to launch their product on Indiegogo. One of the most successful projects on Indiegogo was a social robot developed by MIT Media Lab, Anik explains, so they could see that people were ready to invest in empathetic machines like Moodbox. Anik and his team had a successful run on Indiegogo, raising more than USD $57, 000 out of a $40,000 goal.
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