NEON 2.0

Samsung Agentic AI - NEON DIgital Human Avatars

In 2023, NEON continued its journey from concept to reality, marking significant milestones with its display at Chevron’s pilot program, the Samsung Experience Store in Palo Alto, and an anticipated debut at NRF 2024. At Chevron, NEON avatars were showcased as digital service representatives, assisting customers and providing information in real-time with natural, human-like interactions. At Samsung’s Palo Alto store, visitors experienced NEON’s interactive potential firsthand, exploring how these AI-powered digital humans could enhance retail and customer service. Set to debut at NRF 2024, NEON is expected to show advanced functionalities, demonstrating its adaptability across industries and its ability to bridge digital experiences with engaging, realistic human connections.

My Role: Head of Design/ Design Management: I build and lead a team of 8 creatives. Consisting 2 Art directors, 4 full time designers (two UX design and one Visual design, one motion graphics), 2 tech artists.

Palo Alto Samsung Experience Store - Retail Pilot (Kiosk)

Palo Alto Samsung Experience Store - Retail Pilot (Tablet)

Each NEON has a unique personality and can be customized to fit specific roles, like a virtual tutor, financial advisor, or concierge. By harnessing machine learning, neural networks, and computer vision, NEONs can read and interpret both verbal and non-verbal cues, adapting their responses and expressions to match the conversation’s context.

Chevron Extra Mile Wine sommelier - Pilot

Retail Demo - Makeup Sales

Retail Demo - Vehicle Sales

Consultant Demo - Finance

My Role and Responsibilities

Content Creation and UI/UX Design:

At NEON, I contribute at both the beginning and end of the production pipeline. Leveraging my expertise in film production, I generate high-quality data that serves as the foundation for our digital human technology, which is then delivered to the engineering team for development. At the end of the pipeline, I focus on user experience design, collaborating closely with front-end engineers to create intuitive and engaging software applications.

Marketing and Strategy:

In this area, I create and produce all of the demo videos to showcase our work and document key milestones. Additionally, I design promotional and marketing visuals that support the strategy team in delivering impactful presentations and creating engaging materials for marketing campaigns.

Leadership Responsibilities:

Besides my hands-on responsibility with content creations, I also managed a design team of 11 members. Creating project timeline, milestones, deliverables, distributing project briefs and tasks to the team. Facilitating weekly meetings and provide feedback as a group and individual basis. Assist a small team consisting of UX and Visual Designers, Tech Artists, Creative Directors, 3D Artists with both big and small tasks.

DATA CREATION PROCESS

Pre-Production:
In the pre-production phase, my responsibilities include calendar scheduling, budget planning, posting casting calls, auditioning talent, and overseeing wardrobe test fittings. I also handle screenplay/script writing for data capture sessions. To ensure smooth execution during data capture, I hire and coordinate external crew members such as makeup artists and wardrobe specialists.

Production:
On shoot days, I serve as the director, guiding the talent to achieve the best possible performances. I collaborate closely with colleagues in the lab, managing tasks such as teleprompter operation, shot logging, and directing talent for optimal data quality.

Post-Production:
After video and audio files are collected, I focus on optimizing the data for machine learning/NRE training. This involves tasks such as footage editing and color correction using DaVinci Resolve, as well as audio optimization in Adobe Audition. Finally, I ensure all deliverables are prepared for the engineering team, adhering to the required file naming conventions and folder structure.

Data Capture