SoundSeeker™ is a groundbreaking, patent-pending digital experience powered by artificial intelligence (AI) (Cruise Robots). Not surprisingly, it is robot-friendly Royal Caribbean introducing the innovative tool,  designed to use machine learning to seamlessly create original soundtracks based on the content of each photograph.  In other words, speaking of the typical Royal Caribbean cocktail-making robot we can now say ‘it learns’.

We’ll get into the robot-flavored expanded diversity net shortly.  First, how Soundseeker works, in three easy steps:

1. Visit www.SoundSeeker.com where to upload three photos of your choice…but make them with faces in them or the robots yell at you.
2. Robots go to work, analyzing those photos based on color, landscape, backdrop, emotion, body language and facial expression…they don’t care who looks good and who does not.
3. A naturally creative bunch, Royal Caribbean Robots will then turn those photos into a shareable soundtrack which sounds way better if a photo of one of their ships included.

Stop reading.  Click here and try this yourself. See how cruise robots share photos, your photos, right now.

Basically, Robots have no emotional angle here.  Still, they are trained to find life’s most brag-worthy moments which probably do not include Uncle Ted flipping off a cab driver.  Somehow they manage to tell that story with just three photos.

“SoundSeeker is the latest proof point of Royal Caribbean innovation and how we focus it on delivering unexpected, memorable experiences; whether that is the SkyPad, which uniquely combines bungee jumping with virtual reality or live streaming your favorite shows from the middle of the ocean using VOOM, the fastest internet at sea,” -Jim Berra, chief marketing officer, Royal Caribbean International.

SoundSeeker uses machine learning, an artificial intelligence technique that enables computers to simulate human intelligence and make decisions on their own without explicit instructions. The learning process entailed more than 600 hours in which Royal Caribbean and a team of musicians and technologists reviewed hundreds of music tracks along with 10,000 photos, matching each of the 2.5 million combinations to one of 10 undisclosed moods.  I’m thinking these are the top ten contenders:

1. Amused
2. Blissful
3. Calm
4. Cheerful
5. Content
6. Dreamy
7. Ecstatic
8. Energetic
9. Excited
10. Flirty, in a cute way, not stalky stalky

Probably NOT moods the robots are looking for:

1. Angry
2. Annoyed
3. Apathetic
4. Bad
5. Cranky
6. Depressed
7. Envious
8. Frustrated
9. Gloomy
10. Grumpy

Hmm, those other moods do happen. I hear.  Have never personally seen them on a cruise though.  (lie)

The AI in SoundSeeker uses Google Cloud Vision to identify objects, facial expressions and the colors in a user’s photo by referencing the roadmap developed by the leaders in music theory at Berklee. SoundSeeker then finds the musical elements corresponding to each mood in the photo to compose a genuinely distinct audio and visual photo album. The Royal Caribbean tool is equipped to generate over one million unique tracks, based on custom base tracks, composed exclusively for the cruise line. The customized tracks take inspiration from a wide variety of music, including 90s hip-hop, rock, modern and electronic dance music.

If SoundSeeker sounds familiar, there might be a good reason for that.  You might be thinking of any number of Royal Caribbean SeaSeeker, a custom-engineered scuba mask for Snapchat Spectacle.  Sure you were.

This is not new territory for Royal Caribbean though, what with the worlds largest cruise ships and all that they bring to the table, like

• Voom- their version of the fastest internet at sea
• Virtual Balconies- finally, insides with a view
• RFID technology- they were first
• Onboard Mobile App with features like x-ray vision to see what they are doing on the bridge and in other restricted areas.
• Friendly Robots already making cocktails, moving along to photography seems the next logical move.  I often go immediately from cocktails to photography myself…as the results often indicate.  Oops.

Fans can follow along on Royal Caribbean’s social channels, and by searching #SoundSeeker.

Cover photo: Flickr/langfordw