Naver, Line unveil AI platform at MWC

BARCELONA, March 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's dominant Internet portal operator Naver Corp. and its mobile messaging affiliate Line Corp. have unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI) platform at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) now being held in Barcelona, Spain. Idezawa Takeshi, New York-listed Line's chief executive, delivered a keynote speech Wednesday at the annual technology fair to disclose details of its AI virtual assistant, Clova CLOud Virtual Assistant, which is co-developed by Naver. Under "Project J," Clova incorporates Line's chat-based communication technology and Naver's new digital assistant service named AMICA. The cloud-based service will be launched for not only smartphones but also a range of products, such as consumer gadgets and home devices. Clova, which is similar to Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri, combines speech recognition and natural language understanding to respond to a user's questions or to call up information, such as the weather. "Clova is a platform that incorporates various AI technology, including voice, visual and conversation engine," said Idezawa, adding that the platform allows human-level conversation without touching a device. Unlike previously launched AI platforms, Clova will utilize big data to provide various customized services depending on a user's culture and geography, Idezawa said. The Clova smartphone application and the Wave speaker are scheduled to be released in Japan and South Korea between April and June, between April and early summer, respectively. Naver also said it has joined hands with Sony and LG Electronics Inc., a major South Korean consumer appliance manufacturer, to incorporate its Clova into toys and home appliances. khj@yna.co.kr (END)