SKT Signs MOU with Three Mental Care Specialists
Analyzing Voice and Facial Expressions to Detect Depression Signs
SK Telecom announced on the 26th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the development of 'AI Mental Care Services' with Yukwehan Project, a mental care specialist company based on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Turing Bio, and Imoloji.
Participants in the 'MOU for AI Mental Care Technology Development' signing ceremony (from left): Jongmin Lee, Head of SKT Future R&D; Juyeol Hong, CEO of Yukwaehan Project; Minbo Shim, CEO of Turing Bio; Hanwook Ryu, CEO of Imoloji / Photo by SK Telecom
Yukwehan Project operates the mental care service platform 'Klaify' and the face-to-face psychological counseling center 'Klaify Psychological Research Institute.' Turing Bio is a company possessing mental health diagnostic technology and the digital therapeutic device for depression improvement 'DepRx,' while Imoloji has launched facial expression-based psychological diagnostic technology and the third nerve stimulation low-frequency device for concentration enhancement called 'Smart Dream.'
SKT and the three companies held the MOU signing ceremony yesterday at Yukwehan Project’s Psychological Research Institute located in Daechi-dong, Seoul. Attendees included Lee Jong-min, head of SKT Future R&D, Hong Ju-yeol, CEO of Yukwehan Project, Shim Min-bo, CEO of Turing Bio, and Ryu Han-wook, CEO of Imoloji.
SKT expects to showcase differentiated AI mental care services by combining its multimodal AI technology with the mental health detection and treatment technologies and related solution capabilities of Yukwehan Project, Turing Bio, and Imoloji.
The first collaborative task aims to jointly develop and provide AI mental care service technology that detects signs of stress, depression, and attention/concentration decline through voice and facial expression analysis, and offers customized treatment and support.
To this end, SKT will develop AI mental health change detection and analysis models based on the technological know-how and accumulated data held by the four companies. Turing Bio and Imoloji will be responsible for mental health change detection and digital therapeutic technologies, while Yukwehan Project will develop optimal mental care solutions. The customized care solutions based on facial expressions and voice are expected to be applicable in various other fields in the future.
For example, even general voice data analysis alone can detect mental health status and indicators and provide customized care solutions. Additionally, by linking with pet services, AI mental care can be connected to guardians who may experience 'pet loss' syndrome after the death of their companion animals, helping prevent and overcome stress and depression, thus expanding into various service formats.
The participating companies plan to strengthen cooperation in AI mental care solution technology development by continuously expanding detection fields related to mental health and disorders. They also intend to evolve into a multimodal AI mental care service that integrates analysis of various forms of mental data such as voice and video to improve accuracy.
Lee Jong-min, head of SKT Future R&D, stated, "Starting with this MOU, SKT, Yukwehan Project, Turing Bio, and Imoloji will combine their AI mental care R&D capabilities to continuously produce outcomes that contribute to the improvement of mental health."
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