{
  "id": 17232614,
  "title": "i-City plans AI companion for 500-unit development",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/i-city-plans-ai-companion-for-500-unit-development",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-30T13:00:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/10/1567160/i-city-plans-ai-companion-500-unit-development"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: i-City is collaborating with TwinMatrix Technologies to create an artificial intelligence (AI) companion for its upcoming 500-unit AI Living residential project, slated for completion in 2030. The digital assistant, known as i-Ris, will harness Nvidia's digital-human technology and computing power to facilitate residents' interaction with their homes and coordinate connected services. TwinMatrix, an Nvidia Inception company, will employ Nvidia ACE technology to craft a lifelike digital avatar capable of natural communication with residents. Nvidia's graphics processing unit computing will bolster the AI systems that interlink various home technologies. The objective is to unify smart-home systems, domestic robots, wellness devices, and various services under a single interface. TwinMatrix CEO Eric Liu emphasized that the development aims to transcend mere device connectivity, stating, \"We aim to establish an intelligent environment where residents can engage naturally with their homes, while the underlying systems collaboratively address their everyday needs.\" The proposed companion could assist residents in managing schedules, accessing information, and coordinating household services. Potential future applications may encompass guiding domestic robots, adjusting home settings, and offering wellness insights leveraging authorized wearable-device data. The system will leverage TwinMatrix's proficiency in spatial AI and digital twin technology to intertwine the diverse platforms and account for the physical context in which residents reside. Nvidia's startup and partnership manager for developer programs in Asia Pacific, Pei Yi South, remarked that digital-human technology and AI computing could render interactions with connected services more intuitive. i-City director Datuk Eu Hong Chew highlighted that the project would set AI Living apart from traditional developments. The development of i-Ris will proceed in stages, commencing with conversational functionalities and resident services before advancing into robotics, wellness, and smart-home integration.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: i-City is working with TwinMatrix Technologies to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) companion for its planned 500-unit AI Living residential development, targeted for completion in 2030.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}