One Voice Technologies and LTB Audio Partner to Create the Digital Home
Imagine using your voice to tell your Media Center to play MP3 or iTunes music, call to order a pizza, set the thermostat or home theater lighting, play a photo slideshow, watch and record live TV, read and send email, or initiate a video chat session with a friend.
One Voice Technologies and LTB (which is short for Listen to Believe) Audio Systems entered into a strategic partnership that makes this possible today. The partnership combines One Voice's Media Center Communicator (MCC), a voice recognition software offering that it just released earlier this week, with LTB's new Q-Bean digital audio device and microphone. Q-Bean connects to most computers through the USB port and has a range of about 90 feet.
"Now you’re able to walk freely through your home, pick up this little device, and say which music you want it to play, rather than having to go inside," says Adam Finch, a member of One Voice's sales and marketing team. "You’re able to take that experience with you, no matter where you are, and have your entertainment follow you."
He says the MCC software further demonstrates the use of voice recognition technology in the making of the "digital home."
One Voice's MCC uses fourth-generation voice technology and requires no voice training and no programming, so it is ready to use right out of the box. MCC is also able to handle most common accents, including U.K. English, as the product is widely sold in Great Britain. Voice training is only necessary for using MCC's speech-to-text feature, which translates spoken words to text in an email or other document. Users can view a list of pre-programmed voice commands simply by asking What can I say, and add their own custom commands with a My Commands function.
The multimedia component allows users to access files in various formats, whether MP3, photos, or movies, while giving users the ability to open and view multiple file formats at the same time. For example, a track from the Beatles can play while viewing a picture slideshow. The communications suite within MCC operates with Skype and Yahoo! email. Working with Honeywell and Embedded Automation, One Voice integrated home control capabilities into the MCC software.
"What makes this different from other products is that we’re all about command and control," Finch explains. "We don’t focus on speech-to-text, but making this a mass-market product anyone can use."
As part of its cross-promotional deal with LTB, One Voice is bundling the Q-Bean with its MCC software in a single package. Together, the two items sell for $175. The MCC software alone costs $79.95.