Software company ArtiCAD says it is experimenting with the concept of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create design software that can be controlled solely by a user’s voice.
Speaking to kbbreview at kbb Birmingham today, Theresa Turner, marketing director at ArtiCAD, said that the company was developing the new AI design technology, but stressed that it was currently just in an early development stage.
Turner said that ArtiCAD’s tech lab has been reviewing AI technology for some time. She said: “There’s lots of opportunity for AI to be deployed in a highly structured and managed way.
“For example, yesterday, one of our super-clever developers working on AI showed me a demonstration of him putting a room together – windows, doors and everything else – with voice controls, via AI.”
He said: “I’d like to put a window on that wall, I’d like the window to be this wide, that deep, that tall, and I’d like it to have this many panes, and so on.”
When asked about how specific a designer would have to be while operating the technology, Turner said that the software was currently “reasonable” in its operation.
Turner clarified that the technology is certainly not ready to implement yet, but called it a “remarkable proof of concept”.
She explained: “That’s where a lot of implementation potential is – at the proof-of-concept stage. Then you have to think, would people really want to use this, and how useful can it be? It’s cool, but does it add value? It’s fascinating.
“Lots of people talk about AI and they put it everywhere, but if it doesn’t fulfil a genuine value to the kitchen, bedroom bathroom retailer, there’s no point.”
As well as its practical applications, Turner said that ArtiCAD will have to look into how best to implement the technology if it is developed further.
Asked for an example, she said: “If you’re in a busy office, would you have to use headphones and a microphone? How would that actually work in a day-to-day setting?”
She also said that the company is very interested to see where new AI technology will take the business next. “We’re watching it develop in record time – every minute of every day, some new AI application is popping up.”
Turner also recently discussed with kbbreview how ArtiCAD is developing other technologies to directly benefit retailers.