OmniSpeech Technology Incorporated in Alcatel's Smart Watch
OmniSpeech, a provider of speech enhancement and noise reduction software, is including its OmniClear technology in the latest Alcatel Move Time smart watch. In addition to fitness tracking, email, and SMS capabilities, the watch enables users to make and receive phone calls directly from the device. That's where OmniSpeech comes in.
"The wearable team performed extensive evaluations and trials of noise suppression solutions and determined that OmniClear is by far the best option in the business of voice clarity and echo cancelation," said Steve Cistulli, president and general manager of TCL Communication (TCT),North America, in a statement. "We are pleased to bring this innovative solution to market on the Move Time smartwatch."
"We are pleased to see our technology employed in Alcatel's Move Time smartwatch to enable high-quality voice communications," said OmniSpeech Founder Carol Espy-Wilson in a statement. "And our partnership with Alcatel is just a start. It's just the tip of an iceberg. Why? Because we fundamentally believe that we have a technology that can add significant, game-changing performance value to every phone, hearing aid, computer, and car in the world. Our distinct, single-microphone OmniClear software reduces dynamic noise in communication devices, performing on par with competing dual-mic solutions. In addition to enhancing speech, OmniClear lowers the volume of noise, which is often distorted by other solutions. These advantages come from our proprietary technology, which leverages decades of research on speech production, acoustics, and perception.
"Our algorithm knows what speech looks like. It has specific characteristics," Espy-Wilson explained. "We use subtraction techniques and what is special about speech to recognize the speech signal and reduce everything that is not speech."
OmniSpeech's technology was developed at the University of Maryland by Espy-Wilson, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering and the Institute for Systems Research. OmniSpeech licensed the technology from the university.