Baidu's Duer:Another addition to the family of Digital Assistants

Baidu's Duer:Another addition to the family of Digital Assistants.

By now, you all must be familiar with the names of Siri, Google now and Cortana. Duer is another addition to the family of Digital assistants, only difference being, like Facebook M it is also AI powered.

Duer's Logo

A Beijing-based company Baidu that develops Chinese version of Google has recently launched its own personal assistant named “Duer”. This Tuesday it was incorporated into its latest mobile search app which is installed in millions of mobiles in China .Baidu is the only company, outside the premises of US which has challenged companies like Apple and Google.

While spreading some light on this newly created artificial AI powered digital assistant, Robin Li, President and chief executive officer of Baidu announced that:

” Duer is based on the company's existing ecosystem that already covers many sectors, such as dining, film, tourism, education, and healthcare”  

Just like Cortana and Siri, Duer has its own perks. It processes voice requests to connect users with services like food delivery, pet grooming and ticket sales. It is your constant source of information and a friendly companion .It orders your food for you, and while you are searching for a good restaurant to take your family out on a dinner it displays all the relevant information about that restaurant, its location, cuisines, bookings, prices etc. Instead of waiting in long lines to buy movie tickets you can ask Duer to do your job .It will soon be integrated into Baidu’s other apps including Maps and Nuomi, a group buying service.

   Duer is expected to soon be integrated into Baidu maps and Nuomi
Photo:SCMP pictures

In near future Duer will be able to control all your devices at home and connect them to healthcare and other customer care services. In addition to that it will expand to include ride-hailing, housekeeping, beauty, education and travel services.The service can be activated in your smartphones by simply saying “Hello Duer”.

Baidu boasts off the fact that their artificial intelligence is capable of image recognition more accurately than humans, and better than both Microsoft and Google’s technology.

At the company’s 10th annual Baidu world conference in Beijing Robin li Yanhong said:

“In the past, only the privileged few – those in very senior positions in companies or other organizations – had personal assistants. With Duer, every ordinary person can now have a powerful personal assistant who can provide valuable life services – for free.”

One of the driving forces behind this artificial intelligence is world renowned ex-Google Brain Andrew Ng, who joined the company back in 2014.