SEARS

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SEARSTM

Extracting intelligence from voice, directly

This project marks the
beginning of many firsts.

Project SEARS was conceived in 2020, and after four years of discussions and validations, it has finally taken shape, in the right directions. It brings together a unique collaboration between a start-up (Pradhi), an academic institution (IIT-Delhi) as our research partner, and a business entity, Future Generali India Life Insurance, which provided the project grant. Together, we are addressing a critical and complex problem.

  • On Indic languages
  • Real time data for capturing real emotions
  • Creating a new taxonomy

Our work begins with Hindi, laying the foundation for broader efforts in speech emotion analysis across multiple Indic languages. Hindi serves as a starting point, allowing us to refine our models and methodologies. However, our vision extends far beyond Hindi. As part of our long-term strategy, we are systematically building datasets for 12 Indic languages.

Each language presents unique challenges and opportunities, from phonetic variations to differences in emotional expression tied to cultural context. By creating these comprehensive datasets, we are not only contributing to the advancement of speech emotion analysis in individual languages but also ensuring that our models are inclusive, robust, and capable of recognizing emotions across diverse linguistic backgrounds.

MoU with IIT - Delhi

Project SEARS embodies the future of pradhi.ai, driving our commitment to advancing speech emotion recognition, particularly for Indic languages. By leveraging the rich data processed by our platform, we aim to deepen research in this domain-centric field, generating valuable insights that will further enhance our capabilities.

We are thrilled to collaborate with IIT Delhi and Professor Santanu Chaudhury on this journey. The endorsement from Future Generali Life, under the leadership of Alok Rungta, reinforces our conviction that voice intelligence is key to next-generation business transformation. This validation strengthens our mission to lead in building impactful voice-driven solutions for an inclusive digital world.

Vijayalakshmi Raghavan, Co-Founder Pradhi AI

Next-Gen human-centered AI will be a multi-modal interpretation engine - trained and tuned to understand human need or character, not only through speech or written text but also by using vocal and facial expressions and even gesticulations.

A voice first approach exploiting language features and vocal expressions to develop human centric business applications will be, therefore, a new and appropriate first move in this direction . It will have huge futuristic significance and may change the design idiom for human facing business processes. Services and businesses addressing human needs and/or gainfully engaging the human mind for useful activities need to have multimodal intelligent interfaces to make applications more personalised and targeted.

Professor Santanu Chaudhury, IIT-Delhi

AI has the potential to transform the insurance industry, and at Future Generali Life Insurance, we recognize both its opportunities and limitations. As part of our digital transformation efforts, we are dedicated to integrating voice technology to boost efficiency and streamline operations. Voice-driven AI presents a unique chance to enhance customer interactions, increase service accessibility, and embed intelligence into daily tasks.

We believe that innovation flourishes through collaboration. By partnering with startups and academic institutions, we are not only addressing today's challenges but also preparing for the future. These collaborations enable us to explore the full potential of AI.

Our involvement in project SEARS underscores this commitment. We view voice intelligence as a key factor in shaping the future of insurance, and through initiatives like this, we are creating an ecosystem that promotes growth, innovation, and long-term value. At Future Generali Life Insurance, our focus is clear: leverage AI responsibly, collaborate to drive meaningful change, and continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers.

Alok Rungta. MD & CEO.
Future Generali India Life Insurance

Opening up many research opportunities

This endeavor unlocks a wealth of research opportunities, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence and language understanding via emotions. As we build datasets across multiple Indic languages, the insights gained from each language's unique characteristics will contribute to the development of more sophisticated, culturally aware AI systems. These systems will not only recognize emotional expression across languages but will also understand the subtle nuances tied to regional dialects, linguistic variations, and cultural norms. This localized intelligence will allow AI models to better interpret human emotions, ensuring that interactions feel more natural, empathetic, and contextually relevant.

In expanding to cover these languages, our work will have far-reaching implications across numerous industries. For instance, in customer service, AI can respond to users with deeper emotional understanding, improving satisfaction and reducing miscommunication. In healthcare, where emotional well-being plays a vital role, AI systems will be better equipped to detect distress or emotional shifts in patients, even when those emotions are expressed in different languages or cultural contexts.

Moreover, this research opens doors to further studies in linguistics, cross-cultural emotion recognition, and the intersection of AI and social sciences. By embedding cultural and linguistic diversity into AI, we are not just improving technology but contributing to a more inclusive future where millions can communicate effectively in their native languages.