CTICC hosts intelligent humanoid at Biomin World Nutrition Forum
IN A first for conferencing at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), the venue hosted “Miss Pepper”, a humanoid robot capable of detecting human emotions, during the Biomin World Nutrition Forum.
The theme of the 2018 premier animal nutrition event hosted by Biomin was Scope, which signifies Scientific Challenges and Opportunities in the Protein Economy.
The 2018 World Nutrition Forum held this month offered top industry professionals a spectrum of varying perspectives and viewpoints on factors that influence tomorrow’s protein economy. Species-specific breakout sessions provided a platform for reflection on topics in the poultry, swine, ruminants and aquaculture sectors.
Developed by SoftBank Robotics, Miss Pepper, who is capable of interacting with humans and more excitingly can adapt her interaction according to a human’s emotions, was unveiled during the three-day international conference. Miss Pepper is capable of recognising faces, speech and can hear – she can also identify when someone is experiencing joy, sadness and surprise or filled with anger.
Erber AG, the parent company of Biomin, chief marketing officer Herbert Kneissl said artificial intelligence and big data will become an everyday topic in the livestock industry.
“She (Miss Pepper) is able to perceive emotions, and what is a conference like the Biomin World Nutrition Forum without emotions? The digital experts of Biomin additionally trained her to be the little star on the stage to welcome the audience, break the tensions, but in first line to demonstrate that the future of using humanoid robots has started now,” Kneissl said.
CTICC chief executive Julie-May Ellingson said it was extremely important for the CTICC to host forward-thinking conferences such as the Biomin World Nutrition Forum 2018. |