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If customers start demanding visits with their advisors in virtual reality, Fidelity wants to be ready. In a proof-of-concept, the investment company’s research and development division built a virtual “financial agent” that can interact with a client’s vocal commands.
The agent, called Cora, greets users in a VR environment and pulls up charts based on spoken cues. On the surface, it’s a test of Fidelity’s ability to create virtual data visualizations that are integrated with voice commands, said Adam Schouela, head of the company’s emerging technology group.
The project, which is a collaboration between Fidelity and Amazon, which provided the VR environment and vocal command technology via Alexa and Polly, is part of a larger look at “high-level” virtual reality use cases that could “potentially displace some of the legacy technologies,” Schouela said. It includes using technology for consumer education and more nuanced employee training, as well deepening client relationships with the firm and its...