● Clova Extension Kit for developing and scaling Clova skills to be publicly released in July
● More than 50 skills provided by 34 initial partners, including Tokyu Corporation and Lawson, Inc., to be released sequentially
TOKYO – June 28, 2018 – LINE Corporation announces the public release of the Clova Extension Kit – a development kit for building and scaling Clova skills – in July, as well as the sequential release of over 50 skills provided by 34 initial Clova Extension Kit partners.
Clova has been enabling users to enjoy a variety of feature including listening to music, checking the news and weather report, sending LINE messages and making LINE free calls to friends and family, and more.
In order to support users’ daily lives more seamlessly down the road, LINE believes in the importance of not only enhancing Clova’s skills per se, but also scaling them and giving Clova the ability to do more things. Therefore, LINE is publicly releasing the Clova Extension Kit which will enable external partners and developers to build Clova skills. After undergoing a screening process, skills created by external partners and developers using the Clova Extension Kit will be made available to general users through the Clova Skills Store, expected to be launched in or after the second half of July.
In conjunction with the public release of the Clova Extension Kit, skills that have been developed in advance by 34 initial partners belonging to a wide range of genres with high user demand will be released sequentially after the Clova Skills Store is launched.
Initial partners (in the order of the Japanese syllabary): Aioi Nissei Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd., istyle Inc., Accela, Inc., iXIT Corp., Increment P Corp., Val Laboratory Corp., Weathernews Inc., Voicy, Inc., VoiceCities Pty Limited, VoiceApp Lab, Excite Japan Co., Ltd., CYBIRD Co., Ltd., CBC Radio Co., Ltd., ThingsFlow Inc., SKY Perfect JSAT Corp., SmartHacks, SOMPO Holdings, Inc., Change Inc., Denso Ten Limited, Tokyu Corp., Tokyu Hands Inc., transcosmos inc., Japan Airlines Co., Ltd., Nomura Securities Co., Ltd., FiNC, Inc., Flier Inc., Headwaters Co., Ltd., Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc., Money Partners Co., Ltd., MAMORIO, Inc., Yoriso Co., Ltd., Rakuten Securities, Inc., International Linier Collider Collaboration, and Lawson, Inc.
Opening up the platform to the public will expand the variety of things users can do with Clova. For instance, Tokyu’s skill will enable them to check train statuses, and Lawson’s skill will let them listen to Lawson’s in-store radio through Clova. Through the provision of such third-party services, LINE will offer users a sound-based experience that is more convenient and customized to every user’s preference.
Examples of skills offered by initial partners
|
Company name |
Skill name（tentative） |
Description |
|
Tokyu Corporation |
Tokyu Line App (train service information) |
Announces the train service status of each Tokyu line |
|
Lawson, Inc. |
Lawson Radio |
Streams Lawson’s in-store radio |
|
transcosmos inc. |
Harapeco Bangohan! |
Suggests meals to prepare |
|
Flier Inc. |
Flier |
Gives book summaries |
Meanwhile, LINE is scheduled to organize the “LINE BOOT AWARDS,” a development competition involving the Clova Extension Kit and the LINE messaging app Messaging API. Through this competition, LINE hopes to promote the use of the Clova Extension Kit, diversify Clova’s skills, and build a new type of communication that combines Clova and LINE accounts (chatbots). Details of the LINE BOOT AWARDS will be announced at a later date.
About LINE Clova
LINE first announced its Clova AI assistant at the March "Mobile World Congress 2017" and, in October 2017, began officially selling the Clova WAVE smart speaker – the first Clova-powered device. “Clova Friends,” the second device designed after LINE characters Brown and Sally, launched in December of the same year, followed by “Clova Friends mini” that comes in an even more compact size this June.
A wide range of Clova skills are also being developed, including streaming music, playing the radio, reading aloud the news and weather report, allowing users to send LINE messages using voice control, and making free calls, and the skills are continuously being improved every day.
LINE will continue to actively take in user feedback as LINE Clova makes users' day-to-day lives even more convenient and enjoyable as a "growing speaker."
LINE Clova official website: https://clova.line.me/ (Japanese only)
LINE Clova official Twitter: https://twitter.com/LINE_Clova (Japanese only)
LINE Clova official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LINE.Clova/ (Japanese only)
LINE Clova official blog: http://clova-blog.line.me/ja/ (Japanese only)