Puppet Reveals Secrets of the Human Voice
Stockholm researchers are building a model of the human voice which could potentially unlock insight to better voice care, talking robots and voice prosthetics. Three research groups from The KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm are working with voice and computing experts at universities and research institutes in France, Germany and The Eunison project, [...]
Voice Interfaces Are HABIT-forming
This week I came across some promotional materials for a new automotive cockpit concept from Visteon that incorporates voice technologies, artificial intelligence, graphics, and animation to deliver an enhanced driving experience. Visteon’s Human Bayesian Intelligence Technology (HABIT) system employs machine learning algorithms that adjust to the driver and surrounding environment. To say that this stuff looks [...]
Consumers Warm Up To Voice Biometrics
Voice biometrics is truly coming of age, with 90 percent of consumers saying that they preferred the technology over other methods of authentication, according to a series of surveys from Nuance. The speech technology giant said that data from its findings showed that 85 percent of people are unhappy with current authentication methods. Mobile consumers [...]
Users Embrace Talking Tissue Boxes
It may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, but with the advent of smart objects, a talking box of tissues may someday be not only accepted by users but considered the norm. Researchers at Penn State University videotaped 63 participants who reacted to a talking tissue box. When a lab worker sneezed, [...]
Study: Texting While Driving Is A Bad Idea Even When Using Voice Apps
Although more and more people are using voice recognition solutions in cars, it might not be that much safer when it comes to sending and receiving texts while driving. Researchers from Texas A&M University studied 43 participants who drove at 30 miles per hour on a closed course as a baseline as well as studying [...]
Amazon Reportedly Scoops Up Evi
The Web is buzzing with rumors that Amazon has snapped up Evi, a voice recognition app akin to Siri. So far, Amazon has remained mum and hasn’t confirmed or denied reports. The voice app, which is available for Android and iPhones, uses natural language technology and was originally launched last year by True Knowledge, which [...]
Listening to Wikipedia
ReadSpeaker has just launched an experimental way of speech-enabling Wikipedia. The company was founded in 1999 by Niclas Bergström and speech-enables over 5,000 company and organization Web site and mobile apps in 40-plus languages and more than 100 voices. ReadSpeaker’s main products create audio versions of websites, mobile apps, and online documents and forms. [...]
