Microsoft’s virtual human Milo was first presented in 2009 at L.A. E3 Expo and it was designed for use with Xbox 360’s Kinect. Milo was created by an UK games designer, Peter Molyneux, and can react to different body movements or people emotion.
Although it is just a virtual character, its creator says that wanted to develop Milo and make it seem alive and feel real. With the upcoming Kinect controller, things change. This controller uses sensors, microphones and camerat to exactly interpret users’ intentions.
This year at Technology, Entertainment and Design Global conference in Oxford (TED), Milo was shown for a second time to the audience, this time exploring a garden and learning how to skim stones. Peter said that Lionhead studios is the firm that developed the AI for Milo and this technology exploits psychological spots for Milo to seem real to any person « using » it. The virtual human can interpret different command by the use of voice recognition software, moreover, the software that makes Milo seem so real even allows players to be in charge with facial elements like blushing for example.
The software is so advanced that any action that a player performs on Milo affects its later life and development in the game. Milo’s show-off was just a demo of what this virtual human can do while Microsoft has not setup a release date for it. The incredible fact about Milo is that he can learn, assimilate very well the information and even become smarter in time.
We should however wait and see when and if Milo will be released to the crowds, but people at Microsoft already see it as a big technology hit. Time will tell.