Emerge, the “start-up” with Spanish DNA that revolutionizes AI through the sense of touch

From “feeling” your relatives on a video call to experiencing the strength of a superhero in your own hands, the “start-up” Emerge aims to revolutionize the worlds of technology, artificial intelligence and virtual reality through the sense of touch.

The company, co-founded by the Spanish Isaac Castro, the Asian-American Sly Spencer Lee and the Ecuadorian Mauricio Teran, has been working for years on a device that already allows users to physically enjoy -and without the need for electronic controls or gloves- this experience multisensory.

“We founded Emerge in 2015 because we shared a history of migration and believed in a future where distance and time don’t get in the way of feeling present, especially with our loved ones.” Castro recalled in statements to EFE from the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles (California, USA).

Emerge Wave-1, as this laptop-sized device was dubbed, it works by emitting ultrasonic force fields that, as these entrepreneurs emphasize, can be physically felt with the hands of “bare hands”

“We didn’t want to use any type of glove. This technology is based on something similar to what we feel in the chest, through mechanical waves, when we go to a concert. We more precisely combine these acoustic waves to generate pressure in the air and make everything tangible.” explained the co-founder of Spanish origin.

This is one more step in the future of virtual interactions through screens or televisions in what has already been classified as the “AI of emotions”.

The projection of this experience is such that, at the beginning of June, Emerge formalized a multi-year strategic agreement with The Walt Disney Company to bring its multisensory proposal to homes through the platform and products derived from this well-known media conglomerate.

“It is time for a communication platform focused on what really matters: our emotional connection with others. We are thrilled to partner with Disney to further our mission.” Isaac Castro, also co-executive director of Emerge, said in a press release released weeks ago.

For its creators, the pandemic marked a turning point, generating “unprecedented levels of disconnection” and placing feelings of loneliness as “a great life threat” so they decided to work focused on this “communication platform” which focuses on the “emotional connection” with others in real time.

“The data is alarming, we are on the brink of a global mental health epidemic. That is why we wanted to create a product that would overcome the barriers of distance and time with a very intuitive format”Castro added.

From Emerge they are already adding efforts to involve the main brands of commercial electronics and thus reach more users through smart televisions, virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, as well as video games or films.

PROTECT USER DATA, SOMETHING FUNDAMENTAL

This system -in which the senses of hearing, sight, touch and brain activity come into play- would make it possible to transmit emotions digitally, forging a drastic change in the forms of online communication.

An infinite number of personal data, including those related to emotions, could appear on the network with this revolutionary idea, whose creators made an effort to clarify that it will be protected by high security standards.

The information, as they concluded in the same statement, would be stored locally on Emerge’s devices, they would offer a “transparent vision” of the data collected and would allow users “dictate what they share and with whom”with the possibility of deactivating them.

Emerge is currently made up of a multidisciplinary team of 17 professionals and, in just eight years of existence, it has already been honored as a pioneer company in its sector during the celebration of the World Economic Forum in 2022.

Source: EFE