Items tagged with voice
If you're a little timid of talking to an electronic device, you better suck it up soon, because it looks like it's going to be such a big part of our future as the "new normal". Solutions like Google's Conversation Actions are going to make these interactions possible. With Conversation Actions, smart algorithms are able to pick up on keywords to help give a reasoned response. An example of this can be seen below, where a user asks Google Home for dinner suggestions. The words "hot", "soup", "fast", "chicken", and "tomato" are plucked from the sentence, and without much of a delay, a tomato chicken soup recipe that can be made pretty quickly is suggested to the user. The ultimate goal here is...
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As wearable tech concepts go, the idea of a "smart helmet' — a motorcycle helmet equipped to deliver usable information to its wearer via heads-up visuals projected onto the visor, such as GPS data — really is quite smart, allowing riders to keep their eyes on the road. And even smarter? Configuring said helmet to respond to voice commands, allowing riders to keep their hands firmly on the handlebars. So all of this considered, the LiveMap helmet is indeed one wicked smart piece of wearable tech. The brainchild of a group of Russian engineers, the lightweight Android-based LiveMap helmet is fitted with GPS and voice controls, developed with a $250,000 grant by the Russian Ministry of Science...
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For all the hand-wringing following the debacle with Samsung’s smart TVs, the voice command really is a useful tool. Google has been working to improve voice commands in Android and, at long last, it appears to have added some excellent new voice commands to Android. Sadly, it looks like the new commands work only in Android 5.0, known as Lollipop. Google Now voice commands have been available in Android for a while, but as noted by Android Police, which first reported the new voice command functionality, many of them did little more than open the settings page for the feature you wanted to use. From there, you had to use your finger to enable or disable the feature. Now, at least some of those...
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Nuance Communications is a company you may or may not be familiar with, but you're almost certainly familiar with its products. Whether you know it or not, the company's voice recognition processing powers Apple's Siri, and according to a new report, that technology could be up for sale. So it goes when you don't actually own the things that power your technology, Apple could be looking at a situation where its most bitter rival (Samsung) purchases the company that's providing the brains behind Siri. Obviously, fireworks would probably ensue, and Apple would have to figure out where else to turn to make Siri tick. Or, of course, Samsung and Apple could find themselves in a bidding war. Mind you,...
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If you've ever initiated a call on your LTE-enabled smartphone while in an LTE area, you may have noticed what happens once the call actually connects. It's no longer using LTE. That's because Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) remains a fledgling feature, barely supported anywhere in the world, and certainly not broadly in the United States. As with everything in the technology world, that's changing. Starting May 23rd, AT&T will bring High Definition (HD) Voice using an "all-IP, VoLTE network." At first, only select markets will be tapped, but it'll spread like wildfire after the initial launch. This will allow those speaking with HD Voice to also surf via LTE. Initially, it'll be enabled on the Samsung...
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As it turns, you can donate more than just blood to help others; you can donate your voice, and all it costs you is a stretch of time in a recording booth. And if Professor Rupal Patel and Dr. Tim Bunnell fulfill their vision, voice donations from all over the world may someday be generated with an iPhone app. There are millions of people with speech impairments, and currently the vast majority of them must use generic synthesized voices to communicate. (Think Stephen Hawking.) Apple’s Siri is a voice built from human samples, although in her case the voice wasn’t “mixed” with anyone else’s. However, the aforementioned professionals have a company called VocaliD...
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Oh, so that’s why. Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp was big news, primarily as it left many of us wondering why exactly the company would spend such an unbelievable sum of money on it. After a speech at MWC in which WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum stated that WhatsApp will soon offer free voice calls, it all makes much more sense. Effectively, when WhatsApp rolls out voice calling capabilities--Android and iPhone this spring and then BlackBerry, Nokia phones, and Windows Phone at some point, too--it, and by proxy Facebook, will be a sort of mobile carrier. Essentially what’s happening here is that the WhatsApp guys realized that data is the primary...
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As we inch closer to the U.S. release of Microsoft's Xbox One, you can bet that you'll be hearing more and more about its features and functionality. Of course, a major selling point for the next-generation unit is speed: graphics and otherwise. The new Kinect sensor seems markedly quicker at recognizing inputs, and the console itself seems mighty quick at translating those inputs into actions. How so? Take a look at this Vine video, posted up by Major Nelson himself. He uses his voice to command the Kinect to look for a QR code, which just so happens to be a code that'll grant one a trial period of Xbox Live. After holding the card in front of the sensor, the console converts that code into...
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The future of the telephone may be in jeopardy, or at least in some form of danger. Why? Google. The company has allowed US-based users to make telephone calls to the United States and Canada via Gmail for a few years now, and it's about to extend that in a big way. Recently, with a Gmail overhaul, the ability to make outbound calls vanished. And Google heard the outcry. So now, it's back -- and better. Calls to the US and Canada are now free from all countries where Hangouts calling is available. And international rates remain super, super low. Today's launch also improves the desktop calling experience in a number of ways. For example: you can add multiple phone numbers and video participants...
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Over the years, Razer has spread its wings and expanded into much more than just mice and keyboards for gamers. This, however, may be one of its most broad initiatives to date. Razer Comms is the new product from the company, launching as an open beta and described as an "all-in-one communications solution for gamers." Applying feedback gleaned from a community-based closed beta program, Razer Comms now combines VoIP client, instant messaging and IRC-chat features, allowing gamers the world over to connect with one service, free of charge. It also features an in-game overlay and seamlessly integrates with PC games, providing for uninterrupted gameplay while at the same time typing or talking...
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It'll come as no surprise to you to hear that televisions are getting smarter. It's actually tough to find a big-screen set these days without some sort of Smart TV platform baked into it, and Panasonic's latest line is looking to one-up the others. Nuance's Dragon TV is being installed onto Panasonic's newest Smart Viera HDTVs, adding voice interaction in order to let users bark orders at their set. It's a new definition of lazy, but hey -- we won't tell if you don't. Now people can simply sit back and speak to find content, search the web, control volume and more, and with Dragon TV's text-to-speech, television content and options on the screen can be read aloud. Dragon TV is Nuance's unique...
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In other Google news for today, the search giant announced the latest update to Chrome (Chrome 25), which adds voice recognition capabilities via the Web Speech API. The API is intended for developers, who can bake in speech recognition to their web apps; Google mentions the ability to have rap battles or control game characters in web apps using only one’s voice. More simply and practically, Google set up a little demo page where you can “type” up an email just be speaking into your computer’s microphone. Fair warning: The demo only works on updated Chrome browsers. The new Chrome release also disables silent extension installs, which is designed to allow users to consent...
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Audience has just announced their latest smartphone/mobile audio processor, the earSmart eS515. The earSmart eS515 combines the company’s advanced voice processing technology, which is already employed in many popular smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II, with a high-performance, low-power audio codec for enhanced voice quality and speech recognition and a better multimedia experience. By combining the sound processor with an audio codec onto a single chip, Audience is also able to cut power consumption and reduce off-chip communication for potentially better battery life as well. We’ve got the full press release announcing the earSmart eS515 below and...
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Nuance Communications is already established as a speech technology provider, and it gave itself a big boost by acquiring Ditech Networks, a company that provides Voice Quality Assurance (VQA) technology and PhoneTag voicemail-to-text services. Nuance is looking to leverage Ditech’s technology to enhance its Dragon Voice to Text Services business and further develop its secure on-premise voice-to-text platform. It won’t hurt to add Ditech’s customer base to Nuance’s roster, either. “The world’s most innovative carriers and unified communications providers work with Nuance to take advantage of the revolution in voice recognition, and nowhere is this more evident...
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