Updated with Kika Tech Inc.’s Consumer Electronics Show product introduction and award:

The development of artificial intelligence has followed a roller coaster path over nearly 50 years. First there was great promise in the early 1970s, followed by stagnation from 1974 to 1980. Then there was hope again in the 1980s as Japan developed new technologies, only to see the funding dry up by 1990.

It now appears that AI has matured to a point where it is here to stay, becoming a part of daily life. Smart digital assistants are booming, led by Amazon’s Alexa platform, which is projected to reach 128 million installations and $10 billion in revenue by 2020.

The challenge for technology is to deliver what it promises. Devices can now understand us while performing key functions, such as sharing information and fulfilling requests. These two functions are part of a trio that together represents the holy grail for AI. The third function — emotion — has yet to become part of the equation. One company, Kika Tech, is working hard to change that.

“A lot of companies out there are addressing one of the three purposes … whereas at Kika we’re taking on all three,” said Tami Zhu, a general manager at Kika Tech. “The mission of Kika is to revolutionize communication with AI.”

The company debuted new software at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, an Android app called KikaGo Driving Assistant that lets drivers control their navigation and messaging apps by voice. It’s also selling USB-C charging cable that includes a noise cancellation microphone that can leverage AI to tune itself to a particular car’s noise better than the phone itself. It was chosen by the Wall Street Journal this week as one of the best products of CES.

Recognizing the potential of the technology, theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, interviewed Zhu several weeks ago. In a conversation with host John Furrier (@furrier) at SiliconANGLE’s Palo Alto studio in California, they discussed Kika’s AI technology, plans for the new product release and Zhu’s career in the tech industry.

The road to achieving emotion in AI runs through the evolving field of computer vision. In order for machines to understand and communicate emotions, they must be able to see us. A key step in the field occurred a few months ago when Apple introduced Animoji as part of its iOS 11 release. The new feature employs Face ID hardware scanning built into the iPhone X, resulting in customized emojis based on facial expressions and executed in 3D.

“This is the starting point of computer vision in consumers’ lives,” Zhu said. “If I were an engineer, I would want to get into computer vision because there are so many more things you could potentially play around with.”

Kika’s flagship product is Keyboard, an app that enables smart emojis on the mobile platform. It is currently a leading utility app in the Google Play Store, with 60 million monthly users.

New IoT product announced at CES

There are hints that Kika has a new “internet of things”-oriented product in the works that will leverage its AI-based engine, which is built around natural language processing and deep learning along with image and voice recognition. Thanks to Keyboard, the company has amassed an impressive amount of training data, and Zhu had hinted in her interview in late December that the Android app introduced at CES would use the existing input method in Keyboard to move further the company into IoT.

Top Asian woman at AOL Ventures

Taking technology to new levels has been a driving force behind Zhu’s career. She previously managed a Silicon Valley robotics startup that became a dominant AI player in China, and she also led AOL Ventures where she was the top Asian female executive in the firm.

Kika recruited Zhu in October to further the company’s AI initiatives after opening new headquarters in San Jose, California. In addition to product and revenue growth, her role is to oversee day-to-day operations and hire 50 new employees for a variety of sales and engineering positions.

“I grew up in an academic family and was very competitive, always wanted to be No. 1,” said Zhu, the daughter of two engineering professors. “I decided I was going to come to Silicon Valley when I grew up and participate in technological innovation.”

As an experienced member of the tech community, Zhu has learned that having an innovative mindset and a passion for technology are major factors in being successful in a fast-paced profession. “Focus on what you’re passionate about and don’t be afraid of experimenting,” Zhu said. “Never procrastinate. We all have dreams and hopes, but we need to execute on that now.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Women in Tech and CUBE Conversations.

Photo: SiliconANGLE