Speech Technology eWeekly - April 01, 2003

Q & A

Stephen Clarke, Director, Truancy Call

In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, Stephen Clarke, the director for Truancy Call, explains the recent announcement about this service. Stephen details the operations of the system that is helping lower truancy rates in schools across the United Kingdom.

Chris Hart, CEO, SRC

Chris Hart is the CEO of SRC, a provider of speech technology solutions. In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, Chris discusses some of his company's recent deployments, as well as issues he sees as important to the further adoption of speech solutions.

Andrew Ormsby, CEO, Lexicle

Andrew Ormsby is the chief executive at Lexicle, based in the United Kingdom. In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, Andrew discusses a unique offering by his company and what he thinks of "changingthe way that people work with computers."

Brett Azuma, Senior Vice President of Marketing, IP Unity

Brett Azuma is senior VP of marketing at IP Unity. In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, Brett explains the media server platform offered by IP Unity, as well as explains why carriers should be deploying speech technology solutions.

Faye Matthews, Strategic Marketing Manager, Aculab

Faye Matthews is the strategic marketing manager at Aculab. In a Q&A with the editors of NewsBlast, Faye explains some of Aculab's more recent product offerings, as well as some of the obstacles faced when deploying speech applications.

The Human Factor

Repeat or Not Repeat

What is the proper role that repetition should play in a voice user interface? This question frequently arises when designing a VUI, particularly if the VUI is intended to simulate "natural speech" or "conversational dialog". The common assumption is that repetition is bad because it doesn't sound natural and it occurs only infrequently in human-to-human conversation.

Talking Tech

The State of Desktop Speech

We depend on words. Despite its fleeting and ethereal nature, speech is the most common means of communication between people. Acquiring speech and language is a critical developmental activity, starting in infancy, for people everywhere. However to span time and space in a more permanent fashion, we need to turn spoken words and data into text, (handwritten, printed, typed, etc.). The creation of moveable type to mass produce printed materials has been with us for 550 years.

The State of Embedded Speech

Most of what is written on speech is focused on server based speech processing. But there is a another speech technology out there that's powerful enough to sit on a stamp-sized microchip. It's called "embedded speech". Advancements in computing power gave server side speech the power boost it needed in the early 90s. Now that same rocket fuel is launching embedded speech into the limelight.

Speech Technology News

Eckoh Technologies Voices Up Text with Rhetorical

EDINBURGH, UK - Eckoh Technologies has selected Rhetorical as a key technology provider of text-to-speech (TTS) software.

Travis White Joins Datria

ENGLEWOOD, CO - Datria announcedthat Travis White has joined the company as vice pPresident of marketing andproduct management.

20/20 Speech and Visionbytes Partner

LONDON, ENGLAND - 20/20 Speech announces that its Aurix st technology is to be featured in a digital indexing platform.

SPIRIT Licensed Echo-canceling Software to GL Communications

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SPIRIT and GL Communications announce an agreement whereby SPIRIT licenses its G.168-2000 line echo canceling (LEC) software for use in GL's products.

Phonetic Systems Announces New Language Offerings

BEDFORD, MA - Phonetic Systems announced theavailability of Dutch, U.K. English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, andSpanish (European) languages for its version 5.0 Voice Search Engine(VSE).

Voice Tracker Is an Alternative to Headsets for VoIP Conferencing

SUDBURY, MA - The Voice Tracker farfield array microphone is being used by customers of Centra Software to replace headsets and facilitate more comfortable VoIP conferencing & collaboration.

Somerfield Expands Its VoiceLogistics Implementation

PRINCETON, NJ - Voxware Inc. announced that Somerfield plc is expanding their commitment to Voxware's VoiceLogistics solution.

SPIRIT Announces 30-channel SPARSE Line Echo Canceling Solution

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - SPIRIT announces the advanced version of its ITU G.168 compliant SPARSE Line Echo Canceling solution, to be used mainly with T1/E1 lines.

Nuance Announces Nuance Call Steering 1.0

MENLO PARK, CA - Nuance Call Steering is a packaged speech application designed to address the problem of routing customer phone calls to the correct customer care destination.

Expedia Deploys Speech-Enabled Customer Service Line

MENLO PARK, CA - Nuance announced that Expedia has voice-enabled its 1-800-EXPEDIA customer care line using Nuance speech recognition software.

Genesys Again Named CTI Market Leader

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories announced that its market leadership in a number of customer service and contact center software categories has been validated by market research firm Frost & Sullivan.

NSC Declares a New Pricing Model for Speech Recognition

ISRAEL - NSC, Natural Speech Communication Ltd., declares a new pricing model - selling ASR boards instead of ASR channels.

Speech Recognition Market To Exceed $5 Billion by 2008

Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) projects this market to increase to $897.8 million in 2003, up from $677 million in 2002.

Wizzard Software Announces Plans To Streamline Government Business Relationships

PITTSBURGH, PA - Wizzard Software announced that it plans to file for a GSA IT Schedule contract with the General Services Administration due to a recent increase in Government and Military interest in the Company's products and services.

Language and Computing Launches TeSSI

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Language and Computing announced the launch of "TeSSI for Healthcare and Life Sciences", its product suite for semantic processing of unstructured information within healthcare and life sciences environments.

Syntellect Introduces New Speech Recognition Business Solution Module

PHOENIX, AZ - Syntellect Inc. announced that its VistaVoicePasssolution module is available for general distribution.

Loquendo Technology Powers QualiLife's Solutions

TURIN, ITALY - Loquendo and QualiLife announced an agreement for the integration of Loquendo's multilingual speech technologies into a range of solutions.

20/20 Speech's Two-way Speech Interface Tool Available Online

LONDON, UK - 20/20 Speech announces that its two-way speech interface tool, Aurix(r)activator, is available on Handango's Web site.

NextiraOne and Elix Sign Services Agreement

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - NextiraOne LLC and Elix announceda service relationship in the contact center space.

Microsoft Releases SALT-based Sample Applications

REDMOND, WA - Microsoft Corp. announced the release of two sample applications designed to educate and demonstrate how Web developers can more easily add SALT-based speech technologies into Web applications.

ART Chosen by Siemens for New Fashion Phone- Xelibri 3

ATLANTA, GA - ART Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. announced its first cooperation with Xelibri, the new fashion accessory division created by Siemens.

Quadfore Introduces Application Development and Execution Tools

BOCA RATON, FL - Quadfore Corporation Inc. announced the introduction of Quadfore's Voice Application Builder (Q-Builder) and Quadfore's Voice Application Server (Q-Server).

ScanSoft and IBM to Expand Server, Embedded and Desktop Speech Offerings

PEABODY, MA - ScanSoft Inc. announced a set of agreements with IBM through which the companies will extend speech technology and applications across enterprise, desktop and multimodal environments.

NeoSpeech Announces VoiceText 2.0

FREMONT, CA - NeoSpeech announced the availability of VoiceText 2.0, advanced Text-to-Speech (TTS) software that generates voices from text input.

Voice-enabled Interactive Quiz from Saffron Interactive

LONDON, ENGLAND AND DUBLIN, IRELAND - Saffron and Voxpilot Ltd. have teamed up with the goal of helping Comic Relief raise £10,000 for some of the poor and vulnerable people in Africa and the UK.

BayPackets Announces New VP of Marketing

FREMONT, CA - BayPackets Inc. announced that it has appointed Amol Joshi as vice president of marketing.

Ladbrokes Raises the Stakes for the Martell Grand National

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - VeCommerce Limited has announced thatLadbrokes has launched the second phase of its VeBet-based,voice-enabled wagering system.

BeVocal Announces Hosting Lite

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - BeVocal announced availability of a "Hosting Lite" service for companies interested in small-scale deployments of voice-enabled applications.

Brooktrout Technology Offers Access Program for Voice and Fax Products

NEEDHAM, MA - Brooktrout Technology Inc. announced its Early Access program, providing developers a jump start on development on Brooktrout's products.

Sykes and NetByTel Announce Reseller Agreement

BOCA RATON, FL - Sykes Enterprises Incorporated has chosen to add NetByTel's automated speech recognition solutions to SYKES' existing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services and solutions.

ATX Unveils Voice-Activated Vehicle Owners' Manual

ATX unveiled an electronic vehicle owner's manual (or e-owner's manual) to provide drivers access to their vehicle's manual as the vehicle is moving.

SpeechWorks Announces SpeakFreely 2.0

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. announced the immediate availability of its SpeakFreely 2.0 natural language speech solution.

Assurland Chooses Voxpilot for Telephone-based Insurance Service

PARIS, FRANCE and DUBLIN, IRELAND - The French insurance marketplace Assurland has launched a new, telephone-based service together with Voxpilot to allow its clients to get home insurance quotes over the phone.

Vocollect and IDS Chosen by Zanios Foods

PITTSBURGH, PA and OMAHA, NE - Zanios turned to Integrated Distribution Solutions L.L.C. (IDS) and Vocollect for a warehouse system combining voice with the warehouse management technology tailored to the food distribution industry.

Rhetorical looks to bright future with Orange

EDINBURGH, U K - Rhetorical has been revealed as one of the core technology providers behind innovative voice services from Orange, the UK's most popular mobile phone service provider. In a move which highlights the growing importance of text-to-speech technology and the ability to support a major brand, Orange will use the technology to keep customers up-to-date with news, sport and regional weather across the UK.

VocaLabs Enhances Service Offerings

EDEN PRAIRIE, MN - Vocal Laboratories has created a new prototyping tool for VocaLabs surveys.

Aculab's Prosody to Support Nuance Voice Platform

MILTON KEYNES, UK - At V-World this month, Aculab will demonstrate its Prosody digital signal processor (DSP) resource card, which is integrated with the Nuance Voice Platform (NVP).

Psytechnics Offers a Solution to Speech Recognition Hang-ups

SAN JOSE, CA - Widespread acceptance of speech recognition systems could be impeded by poor cell phone voice quality, Psytechnics has identified.

Emkay's SiSonic Microphone Designed in Neonode's Mobile Phone

BURGESS HILL, ENGLAND - Emkay Innovative Products has been working closely with Neonode in Sweden, and announces that Neonode's N1 mobilephone features Emkay's SiSonic silicon microphone.

NetXentry Enhances Management Team

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NetXentry LLC announced that it has expanded its management team with the addition of Richard Liebman, who has been appointed chief executive officer.

Read-aloud Software Implemented for Grade 10 MCAS

MALDEN, MA - Students with reading and learning disabilities will have the option of using a new "read-aloud" software to aid them in taking this year's Grade 10 MCAS exam.

iVoice Introduces New Voice Dialing Capabilities

MATAWAN, NJ - iVoice Inc. announced a new hands-free feature to its Speech Enabled Auto Attendant that allows an outbound caller the ability to speak the number they wish to dial.

MCI Moves IBM Technology into its "Neighborhood"

ARMONK, NY - IBM announced that its technology would power the voice mail infrastructure for MCI's nationwide, all-distance phone service, The Neighborhood.

Voxware Appoints New Marketing Vice President

PRINCETON, NJ - Voxware Inc. announced the appointment of Stephen Gerrard as vice president of marketing.

CSC Selects ScanSoft RealSpeak

PEABODY, MA - ScanSoft Inc. announced that Computer Sciences Corporation is using ScanSoft RealSpeak as the synthesized voice for the Maryland State Highway Administration's traffic information system.

PIKA Technologies Announces Linux Support

OTTAWA, CANADA - PIKA Technologies Inc. announced that their PIKA MonteCarlo SDK and MM-series digital- and analog-interface voice and fax cards will include support for Linux version 7.3.

Shinko Shoji Group to Provide Telecom DSP Software to Japanese Market

MOSCOW, RUSSIA and TOKYO, JAPAN - SPIRIT Corp and Shinko Shoji Group signed a partnership agreement by which Shinko Shoji is to represent SPIRIT Corp in Japan with a range of communications DSP software for telecom and semiconductor Industries.

Entropy to Release Geometric Distance

JAPAN - Entropy Software Laboratory, a voice and image recognition technology company, is releasing a new solutuion to a conventional "wobble" problem.

FSTC and TouchPoint Consulting Launch Voice Authentication Study

BOSTON, MA and NEW YORK - TouchPoint Consulting andFSTC have launched independentresearch into consumer views on voice authentication.

iVoice Announces Enhancements for Artisoft TeleVantage Platform

MATAWAN, NJ - iVoice Inc. announced enhanced integration capabilities for its Speech Enabled Auto Attendant.

Elan Sayso Available on Mac OS X

TOULOUSE, FRANCE - Elan Speech announced the availability of its Sayso TTS technology on Mac OS X in several languages.

Syntellect Launches New Version of Flagship Product

PHOENIX, AZ - Syntellect Inc. announced the release of version 4.1 of its flagship product Vista IMR (Interactive Media Response).

SEB Chooses Syntellect to Deploy Speech Recognition System

BERKSHIRE, UK - Syntellect Inc. announced that it has signed anagreement with SEB to design and implement an interactive voice responsesystem.

Loquendo and VRTVStudios Partner

PARIS, FRANCE and TURIN, ITALY - VRTVStudios and Loquendo announced a joint marketing agreement to deliver enhanced multimedia messaging and communication solutions to carriers.

Nuance Names New President and CEO

MENLO PARK, CA - Nuance announced that Charles Berger will join the company as president and chief executive officer.

Philips Releases Speech SDK 3.1

VIENNA, AUSTRIA - Royal Philips Electronics released Speech SDK 3.1, a customizable software development kit for creating professional applications.

Rhetorical Signs Agreement with Nortel Networks

EDINBURGH, UK - Rhetorical has signed a reseller agreement with Nortel Networks Periphonics, which will see Rhetorical's rVoice product sold alongside the Nortel Networks IVR platform as a total solution package.

iVoice Unveils iVoice LITE 3.2

MATAWAN, NJ - iVoice Inc. announces iVoice LITE 3.2, the Virtual Communications Associate.

Verascape Introduces VeraServ

DOWNERS GROVE, IL - Verascape announces the introduction of the VeraServ Call Push product.

Globus Travel Selects Edify for CRM

SANTA CLARA, CA - Edify Corporation announced that it has been selected by Globus and Cosmos to implement a major upgrade of their customer service operations.

Turkish GSM Cellphone Manufacturer Chooses ART

ATLANTA, GA - ART Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. announced the signing of its first agreement with RAKS Holding A.S., one of Turkey's largest industrial concerns.

SpeechWorks Releases ETI-Eloquence SF

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. introduced a new embedded TTS engine that offers voice output in 13 languages ith a reduced memory footprint of less than 90KB for one language.

HTI Receives Dialog Designer Certification from Nuance

HTI Voice Solutions, in conjunction with Nuance, announced that Annie Clark Ferreira has been recognized as a Certified Dialog Designer.

Voice Components and Vocomo Release Voice Email Solution

Voice Components and Vocomo Software announce general availability of the Voice Email Appliance.

Coral Announces the Launch of a Speech Recognition Solution

LONDON, UK - Coral announced the launch of a telephone-based speech recognition solution from SRC to handle high call volumes and eliminate lost calls from customers wishing to bet on the Martell Cognac Grand National on April 5.

InternetSpeech Introduces Version of netECHO for Elderly and Visually Impaired

SAN JOSE - InternetSpeech announced a special version of its Voice Internet technology, netECHO, suitable for the elderly, visually impaired/blind communities.

SpeechWorks Secures New Patents for Speaker Verification Software

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded the company two patents for new capabilities related to its SpeechSecure speaker verification software.

Premier Cabs to Automate Telephone Booking Service

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - Premier Cabs has chosen VisibleVoiceto deliver an automated telephone taxi booking solution.

Cindy Tiritilli Appointed as VoiceXML Forum's Program Manager

The VoiceXML Forum Board has beenworking with the management of the IEEE-ISTO to recast ISTO's support tobest meet the Forum's needs.

ScanSoft and SpeechWorks to Merge

PEABODY and BOSTON, MA - ScanSoft Inc. and SpeechWorks International Inc. announced a definitive agreement for ScanSoft to purchase all of the outstanding common stock of SpeechWorks.

New Business Resources Launches Company

IPSWICH, MA - New Business Resources (NBR) announced the formal launch of the company, a collaborative ofindependent, industry analysts and consultants focused oncommunication technologies.

Z-Tech and SpeechWorks Assisting Census Bureau with Data Collection

ROCKVILLE, MD and BOSTON, MA - The U.S. CensusBureau recently began testing Internet and phone-in options asalternative means of responding to the National Census.