Teaching self-driving cars to read emotions
STARTUP OF THE WEEK:
Who they are: Braiq, a New York-based startup set to debut next month during startup accelerator Plug and Play Tech Center’s demo day in Sunnyvale. What they do: Teach selfdriving cars emotional intelligence
Why it’s cool: The Braiq team is building technology that will let an autonomous vehicle read the emotions of its human passengers and adjust its driving style if it senses that they are nervous or uncomfortable — maybe the car is driving too fast, or it’s being too cautious. Braiq plans to use cameras to capture the facial expressions and tone of voice of passengers, and the team is considering sensors embedded in car seats, steering wheels or seat belts that could read a passenger’s respiration and heart rate.
If self-driving cars can respond to human emotions, it might help build people’s trust in the machines and speed up mass adoption of the technology, said Braiq CEO Sameer
Saproo. In addition to self-driving cars, Braiq’s system could be used to improve any robot’s interactions with humans. That’s an area that’s lacking today, Saproo said.
“What you’re producing are these extremely intelligent machines, which almost behave like autistic savants,” said Saproo. “They’re extremely good at crunching numbers, but they’re like Rain Man. They can’t function in a social environment.”
Where they stand: Braiq has raised $120,000 from Techstars and has nailed down a partnership with a Japanese car maker (Saproo wouldn’t reveal the company’s name).
Saproo says Braiq has about half a million dollars in purchase orders lined up, but it likely will be another two or three years before we see cars on the road with Braiq tech inside. Only in Silicon Valley: Baby’s first steps, baby’s first haircut ... baby’s first social network?
Elfkins toys offer a social network that connects young children to their parents and friends through an electronic doll with big eyes, pointy ears and a big smile. The toy, launched by San Mateobased Empath on Tuesday, records and sends voice messages with the push of a button to recipients in a child’s approved network.
The idea is that children can send short messages on their own throughout the day, whenever they feel inspired. Parents or other trusted recipients get those messages on their phone via the toy’s mobile app.
“Current technology solutions may connect us, but they are not designed with a young child’s needs in mind,” Empath adviser and UC Berkeley professor Anne Cunningham wrote in a news release.
“Anyone that has tried to have a video conversation with a child knows it can be challenging to keep them engaged in an extended conversation.” Run the numbers: The average chief technology officer of a private tech company is making $195,071 as a base salary this year — plus a projected bonus of $62,646, according to a recent report by J. Thelander Consulting. Chief scientific officers at biotech companies do better, netting an average base salary of $262,931, and CEOs of medical devices companies make an average of $308,576.
The report also found that women CEOs at private companies earn a base salary that’s 5 percent less than their male counterparts.
Quotable: Dave McClure, the Bay Areabased founder of startup accelerator 500 Startups, held a live online Q&A on Tuesday on ProductHunt. com. He gave eager founders advice on everything from how to pitch a potential investor to how to realize it’s time to give up an a startup idea. And he dropped the f-word several times.
On shutting down a failed startup:
“It’s a very personal decision by the founders to figure out whether it makes sense to keep going or shut it down, but usually the best way to evaluate that decision is based on 1) are people using/buying your product? 2) are you and the team still passionate about what you are doing? if the answer to both of those is NO, then it might be time to call it a day.”
Someone who played a big role in his success? His mom. Also:
“Overall, probably just living and working in Silicon Valley for over 25 years and being around other amazing folks is the biggest “butterfly effect” that had a positive impact on me / on 500 ... I wouldn’t say any single one event changed everything — just a lot of work over a period of time, and a few lucky breaks that went my way.”