PLDT Inc., Smart, MediaQuest Holdings, Cignal TV, and NTT DATA have teamed up to introduce Pearl, the first-ever “Digital Human” in the Philippines.
During the FIBA tournament from August 25 to September 10, Pearl will be there to interact with the huge crowd of sports fans. Think of her as a talking computer character brought to life. Pearl will be stationed at special stands in the Smart Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena.
Pearl, the Philippines’ First “Digital Human”
Pearl, with the help of ChatGPT technology, along with her ability to see and hear, can chat with sports fans in both English and Filipino. You can ask her questions about the basketball games, like where your seat is. She can also tell you other useful stuff, like where to get snacks or fun things to do in Manila if you’re a tourist.
Pearl uses computers to understand what you’re saying and then responds, almost like a chat with a friend. She even has a face that shows different emotions. If you want to know how the games are going, you can just ask Pearl. She’ll give you the latest scores, stats, who’s leading, and what games are coming up next.
NTT DATA, along with NTT Ltd. and NTT DATA Business Solutions, came up with the idea of Digital Human technology, and that’s what Pearl is made of. It’s a mix of computer smarts like understanding speech, learning from what happens, and talking like a human. Pearl can talk and show expressions like a real person.
Pearl isn’t just about chatting, though. She’s can give you updates on the games, tell you who’s winning, the numbers, who’s on top, and what matches are happening soon.
Digital Human technology isn’t something out of a sci-fi movie. It’s been worked on by NTT DATA, along with NTT Ltd. and NTT DATA Business Solutions, to make cool stuff for fans to enjoy all over the world. They mix creative communication (that means talking and sharing ideas in fun ways) with smart gadgets and computers that learn, like the Internet of Things (IoT) and AI. They’ve used these ideas at other big sports events like the Tour de France, IndyCar Series, and Major League Baseball.
The partnership with Smart and PLDT, Mediaquest, Cignal, and the NTT Group have brought these smart ideas to the Philippines, just in time for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
