Ivona Enters Wearables Market with OrCam Partnership
Ivona Software is bringing its text-to-speech technology to OrCam, one of many new wearable devices to hit the market this year.
OrCam, an Israeli firm that makes technologies to assist the visully impaired, offers a small wearable computer that hooks onto a pair of glasses with a small magnet and tells the wearer what's in front of him. It can read the text of a book aloud or announce the names of friends and family in a room. The system incorporates a bone conduction earpiece that conveys descriptions of the object pointed at by the person wearing an OrCam through text-to-speech output.
OrCam's text-to-speech deployment is based on Ivona SDK Text-to-Speech libraries for applications and devices.
The wearable devices market for products like OrCam has already created a buzz that will only get louder as new products enter the market, according to new analysis from Frost & Sullivan.
According to the research firm, last year saw the launch of many such gadgets, such as smart watches and Google Glass. It points out that the market is also flooded with skepticism and hype, but says its potential will propel these devices to the forefront of products to watch in 2014.
In fact, most tech firms and Web companies are actively pursuing this market, the firm concluded.
Ivona, for example, was acquired by Amazon about a year ago.
For Ivona's part, its TTS engine is currently available in 22 languages and 49 voices. Developers use Ivona's tools to incorporate text-to-speech into their user interfaces. Ivona's business customers span a variety of industries, including accessibility, transportation, telecommunications, and education.
"Our goal is to improve the quality of life through the highest quality speech user experience," said Lukasz Osowski, CEO of Ivona Software, in a statement. "Since 2001, Ivona Text-to-Speech has been improving the accessibility of devices and apps for visually impaired people. I'm pleased that OrCam decided to use Ivona voices in their innovative and crucial device."