Discern will commercialise a deception tracker nicknamed Avatar designed to initially be deployed at border security and based on research at Arizona.
University of Arizona has spun out US-based Discern Science International to develop lie detector technology conceived in the management information systems (MIS) department of the Eller College of Management.
Discern Science International will commercialise an artificial intelligence-powered deception tracker called Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time (Avatar) that is initially designed to catch deceit at border security.
Passenger statements are recorded on video by an interactive electronic interview system, before an algorithm is used to scrutinise footage for thousands of indicative gestures inherent in the subject’s voice, body and eyes.
The system alerts border officials to any potential or serious grounds for further investigation. Discern expects the technology to produce a response within approximately 30 seconds.
The spinout will potentially branch out into other deception detection applications long-term.
Discern obtained the licence for Avatar through tech transfer office Tech Launch Arizona, which is also negotiating with the spinout for rights to complementary technologies.
Jay Nunamaker, president and CEO of Discern, led Avatar’s underlying research in his roles at MIS as a Regents professor and the Soldwedel chairman.
The other collaborators include Douglas Derrick and Aaron Elkins, two graduate students of Nunamaker’s who have since gone on, respectively, to become assistant professor of IT innovation at University of Nebraska at Omaha, and director of artificial intelligence research at San Diego State University California.
David Mackstaller also assisted the team, though further details could not be ascertained.
