SVOX Acquires Speech Processing Unit of Siemens AG
expansion into Speech Recognition and Speech Dialog
SVOX, a leading provider of embedded speech solutions announced the acquisition of the Professional Speech Processing Group of Siemens AG, according to SVOX CEO Volker Jantzen. SVOX has acquired all speech technology-related IP of Siemens AG developed over 25 years, including the SpeechAdvance™ speech recognition product suite and more than 60 patent families. The majority of the Professional Speech Processing Group’s employees will be integrated into SVOX Deutschland GmbH in Munich. SVOX Deutschland GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of SVOX AG.
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http://www.webwire.com/...
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Nuance Buys IBM Assets
enhancement of Speech Capabilities across devices and
environments
"IBM and Nuance share a vision to proliferate advanced speech capabilities across a broad range of devices and environments," said Dr John Kelly, senior vice president and director of IBM Research.
As part of the partnership, specialists from both companies will work together to incorporate IBM technology into Nuance's speech software, with the first products expected to be available within two years. Under the terms of the agreement, Nuance will buy speech-related patents from IBM, but the latter will continue to serve its own customers in this regard.
Read more:
http://www.vnunet.com/...
See also:
http://online.wsj.com/...
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The Voice Search Wars
conference highlights a new battleground
The PC and its Web browser user interface continue to evolve, but only incrementally since they are well-established and there isn’t much debate on which companies will determine that evolution. On mobile phones -- which are rapidly becoming much more than phones -- both the form of the user interface and the companies that will dominate that form are up in the air -- and at war.
Read more:
http://www.businesswire.com/...
ApriPoko - Always
at Your Service
cute and helpful Speech Technology
Source:
http://speechtechblog.com
Researchers at Toshiba in Japan are working on a very cute talking
robot that functions as a voice-activated universal remote control.
Named ApriPoko, the robot stands 11 inches tall, weights 5 pounds, and is still in R&D phases.
No word on when ApriPoko will be available to the public. But when he is, the little guy will be able to learn how to control electronic devices by watching humans and asking them questions about their behavior. He will even have a built-in camera to identify different users.
Once it detects an infra-red signal from a remote, it will ask what function just took place; it then commits an answer to memory thanks to a built-in microphone and sends a corresponding IR signal when it hears the same words in the future.
So, for example, if my speech brother Eric B, were to use an infrared device–let’s say a TV remote–ApriPoko would sense the signal and ask Eric “What did you just do?” Eric would likely say “I just turned on the television.”
And then, ApriPoko would commit the command to memory, allowing him to operate that remote function following a voice command from Eric.
ApriPoko can be programmed to work with any device with a remote control. So Eric could have ApriPoko change the channels on his TV, operate his air conditioner, and dim the lights in his living room–all via voice commands.
The ApriPoko is the third in a line of robots from the Japanese company, with the ApriAlpha released in 2003 and the ApriAttenda in 2005.
Sources:
http://www.http://www.speechtechblog...
http://www.electronista...
See also:
http://www.engadget.com/...