• H2020
• Policy & Research

Television viewers could be offered advertisements that are a lot more relevant to their own tastes with the help of new technology.

The new technology is under development by an EU-funded project called TOUCHVIE, which is working on creating a software called Dive.

The software uses artificial intelligence to identify objects, music, décor and locations in video content, so tags can be added to them in real time.

Dive could put an end to the old-fashioned model of television advertising, where companies buy slots during breaks in a programme as it is broadcast.

The growth of online streaming services and piracy has meant fewer viewers need to use traditional broadcast television, and can instead watch their favourite shows without adverts.

Sharique Husain, co-founder of Dive, based in Madrid and Munich, said most advertising on television currently lacks the context to make it relevant to viewers.

Husain said: “If the advert is something that is not relevant to the content I am watching, I am likely to find it annoying, even if that advert itself is of high quality. However, if the advert is relevant to what I’m watching and perhaps comes at the right moment when I could be interested, it becomes an experience.”

The project has developed a software aimed at making adverts far more contextual, intuitive and personalised. It also aims to bring back the one-screen experience, removing the use of distracting second devices.

The idea is that each viewer can be presented with their own personalised, interactive adverts at the touch of a button that do not distract them from the show they are watching.

The software uses AI technologies, especially computer vision and deep learning methods.