Artificial Technology Launches EKI One

German middleware company Artificial Technology announced the commercial release of EKI One Version 1.0, a modular solution for enhancing emotional behavior and artificial intelligence with virtual world characters. A free trial version is available for evaluation. EKI One Version 1.0 consists of three components -- the EKI One Engine, which is the system core and acts as a modular software library with algorithms for pathfinding, movement and perception; the EKI One Configurator for applying and experimenting with artificial intelligence using a palette of tools; and the EKI One Support service. Founded in 2005, Artificial Technology announced in January that it secured €720,000 ($910,000) from German investors Bayern Kapial and Falk Strascheg Holding. With Version 1.0's announcement, the company revealed that its staff has grown to 15 employees. Artificial Technology is already working on EKI One's follow-up version, which it hopes to make "more 'emotional' as more and more aspects of emotional and social psychology are incorporated." "We proudly present a software solution that allows game and level designers, script designers and programmers to define character behavior efficiently and with ease from cognition and movement characteristics to intelligent decision-making," says Artificial Technology co-founder and technical director Serein Pfeiffer. He continues "The specifications and requests we received from our potential customers have had a direct bearing on the development of EKI One 1.0. We have combined ease of use with the technological depth required for authentic character simulation in a single, well-rounded package."