Speech Technology eWeekly - May 01, 2002

Q & A

Stuart Berkowitz, Founder, President & CEO, VoiceGenie

This week's issue of NewsBlast focuses on the Voice Web Industry.

Stephen Collins, Executive Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, ThinkEngine Networks

This week's feature in NewsBlast focuses on topics relating to the telecommunications industry. Questions were posed to Stephen A. Collins, executive vice president of marketing and business development for ThinkEngine Networks.

Rob Kassel, Product Marketing Manager of Emerging Technologies, SpeechWorks; and Albert Kooiman, Director of Business Development, Philips.

This week in NewsBlast we are taking a look at the newly developed SALT Forum. Questions were posed to Rob Kassel, product marketing manager of emerging technologies for SpeechWorks and Albert Kooiman, director of business development for Philips.

Speech Technology News

Sensory Announces Global Expansion

SANTA CLARA, CA - Sensory Inc. announced a strategic initiative to globalize its customer and technology base.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Selects LogicTree and Nuance for New Voice-Enabled Ride Guide

COLLEGE PARK, MD - LogicTree and Nuance announced that they have teamed together to voice-enable the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) Ride-Guide Itinerary Planning Service.

LogicTree and BTS Partner to Ddeliver Next Generation Directory Assistance Solutions

COLLEGE PARK, MD - LogicTree Corporation and Bo Tveden Systems jointly announced general availability of the BTS Enhanced Information Server.

Vocomo and Rhetorical Announce New Choices in TTS Technology

CUPERTINO, CA and EDINBURGH, UK - Vocomo Software Corporation and Rhetorical Systems Ltd announce the availability of a new choice for voice customers.

NMS Communications and enGenic Partner to Streamline Voice Application Development

FRAMINGHAM, MA - NMS Communications has partnered with enGenic Corporation to enable enGenic's TeleFlow Software to work within NMS' voice processing platforms.

iHello Announces Voice Access to Microsoft Exchange

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA - iHello Inc. announced a new voice application that provides enterprise workers with "productivity beyond the desktop" by enabling real time voice access to corporate Microsoft Exchange systems.

Fulton County, Georgia, Chooses Frank Solutions to Implement a 24x7 Self-Service Channel

ENGLEWOOD, CO - Frank Solutions Inc. announced that it has been selected by Fulton County (Ga.) to provide a complete self-service communications solution for the Tax Commissioners' Office.

VoiceMethods Presents a New Speech Recognition Product

NEW YORK, NY and St. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - VoiceMethods, an affiliated company of Ectaco Inc. presents its Health Care Translator.

Speaker Verification Vendors for BioAPI

Now that the BioAPI Specification, Ver. 1.1, has become an ANSI standard (ANSI/INCITS 358), it is expected that more vendors will be announcing BioAPI compliant products and that more end-users and integrators will be demanding it.

Telisma is Integrating SVOX Speech Synthesis

PARIS, FRANCE - SVOX, a provider of speech synthesis software and Telisma, one of Europe's players in the field of voice recognition technologies, have announced the signature of a global co-marketing agreement.

SpeechWorks Deploys Speech-Enabled Services for The Hartford

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. announced it has deployed speech-enabled applications for The Hartford Financial Services Group's affinity auto and homeowners insurance unit.

NMS Communications Presents Studio Sound; NMS Communications Partners with VoxSurf

FRAMINGHAM, MA - NMS Communications unveils StudioSound(R), which eliminates background noise, network distortion,and acoustic echo that hamper the quality of mobile phone calls.

8hertz Launches European VoiceXML Dialog Editor with Voxpilot

BERLIN, GERMANY and DUBLIN, IRELAND - 8hertz technologies GmbH launched a web-based, VoiceXML application tool: the 8hertz Voice Dialog Editor.

ScanSoft Launches Dragon NaturallySpeaking v6 into Distributor and Retail Channels

PEABODY, MA - ScanSoft Inc. announced it has launched Dragon NaturallySpeaking v6 into North American software distributor and retail channels.

Fonix iSpeak To Be Bundled With irock! MP3 Players; Fonix VoiceAlert Available for Microsoft Pocket PC Devices

SALT LAKE CITY, UT and CHICAGO, IL - Fonix Corporation and First International Digital Inc. announced the bundling of the Fonix iSpeak Personal Text Reader into the irock! 500-series MP3 players.

SpeechWorks Announces OpenSpeech DialogModules for Building Commerce Applications

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. announced a new suite of OpenSpeech DialogModule software for developing commerce applications.

Callware Selects SpeechWorks Speechify 2.1 TTS Engine to Power Its Unified Messaging Platform

GREENACRES, WA - Callware Technologies Inc. announced an exclusive agreement with SpeechWorks International Inc. to integrate Speechify 2.1 TTS software into Callegra .UM, Callware's next-generation unified messaging solution.

Verascape and Integy Software Announce Partnership

CHICAGO, IL - Verascape Inc. and Integy Software announced a partnership that will deliver VoiceXML solutions to meet the needs of enterprise customers.

Glenayre Integrates Nuance's Speech Technology Into Versera Voice Services Suite

ATLANTA, GA - Glenayre Technologies Inc.announced it will work with Nuance to extend its voice portalsolutions for service providers.

Vialto and SandCherry Team to Deliver Scalable Voice-Driven Multimodal Applications

ORLANDO, FL - Vialto Corp. and SandCherry Inc. announced they have joined forces to provide voice-driven multimodal solutions for carriers and enterprises.

Microsoft Releases Tools That Will Enable Mainstream Developers To Add Speech to Web Applications

SAN JOSE, CA - Microsoft announced the beta release of the Microsoft .NET Speech SDK, a Web developer tool and product deployment based on the SALT specification. The SDK can be ordered from Microsoft's Web site at www.microsoft.com/speech/stmag

ART's smARTspeak XG Ported To Texas Instruments' DSP Platform

ATLANTA, GA - ART announced the porting of its smARTspeak XG speech recognition solution to Texas Instruments Inc.'s power-efficient TMS320C5000 digital signal processor platform.

Smarter Voice Recognition Technology Will Cut Call Center Costs

Dimension Data Holdings is launching a new "smart" voice recognition technology to the UK marketplace that is able to interpret natural language sentences and provide intelligent responses to customer queries.

Europe certifies Voicevault to BS 7799 and IS 17799

DUBLIN, IRELAND - Voicevault has been awarded the first BS 7799 / IS 17799 certificate issued in Ireland.

ArialPhone Device Now Supports ACT!

MUNDELEIN, IL - ArialPhone Corp., a provider of wirelesscommunications devices and voice-enabling software, announced that itsflagship product, the ArialPhone, now supports ACT!.

Travel Club Deploys Ydilo Voice Solution for its Call Center

MADRID, SPAIN - Air Miles Spain and Ydilo Advanced Voice Solutions announced the conclusion of the testing phase for the call center voice solution.

SpeechWorks Supports Industry Benchmark Test

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks International Inc. announced that it is pleased to participate in establishing a fair, objective benchmark test facilitated by Speech Technology Magazine.

VoiceGenie and BBN Technologies to Market Speech-Recognition Product for Large Business Call Centers; Tell-Eureka Partners with VoiceGenie to Deliver Call Center Automation Solutions

TORONTO, CANADA and CAMBRIDGE, MA - A new product from VoiceGenie Technologies Inc. and BBN Technologies replaces voice mail menus with speech recognition technology that allows callers to get where they want to go in one step.

VoiceGenie Delivers Voice Web Solutions on HP Servers

TORONTO, CANADA - VoiceGenie Technologies Inc. announces its certification and support of the VoiceXML Gateway for Hewlett-Packard Company's IA-32 based servers and carrier-grade servers running Linux.

Cepstral Announces Technology Partnership with SpeechWorks; SpeechWorks Introduces Speechify Solo

PITTSBURGH, PA - Cepstral announced atechnology agreement with SpeechWorks.

Telephonetics to Provide Film Information and Booking Facilities to Customers of CineUK

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, UK - The cinema system developed by computer telephony and speech recognition specialists Telephonetics has been chosen by CineUK.

Ectaco Presents a New Conceptual Model for the Universal Translator

NEW YORK, NY and MOSCOW, ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - Ectaco Inc. has decided to continue the UT product line, which combines speech recognition technology with multi-lingual translation capabilities.

Sensory Anounces RSC-4x

SANTA CLARA, CA - Sensory Inc. announced the introduction of the RSC-4x.

Phonetic Systems Selects AT&T's Natural Voices To Drive TTS for Directory Assistant

FLORHAM PARK, NJ and BEDFORD, MA - AT&T and Phonetic Systems announced that they have signed an agreement to integrate AT&T's Natural Voices TTS Engine into Phonetic Systems' DirectoryAssistant product.

SandCherry Promotes Brian Marquette to Chief Technology Officer

BOULDER, CO - SandCherry Inc. announced the appointment of Brian Marquette to the position of chief technology officer.

Infocision Wins Interactive Intelligence Innovator Award

Interactive Intelligence honored InfoCision Management on May 6 with its Innovator Award, which is given each year to the customer with the most unique application of its interaction management software.

VoiceGenie and Audium Launch AudiumGenie

ORLANDO, FL and TORONTO, CANADA - VoiceGenie and Audium announce AudiumGenie, the open standards voice-driven platform for replacement of traditional Interactive Voice Response systems.

Appriss Joins Washington D.C. Department of Corrections To Launch VINE; Appriss Launches VINE in Minnesota/ Illinois

LOUISVILLE, KY - Crime victims in the nation's capital now have access to offender custody status information through VINE.

Alcatel to Acquire Telera to Enter Voice Self-Service Market for Voice and Web Convergence

PARIS, FRANCE - Alcatel announced it has signed an agreement to acquire privately held Telera Corp., a Campbell, Calif., company thatprovides a voice-web platform using voice extensible markup language (VoiceXML) to make web content accessible by telephone. Telera will become apart of Alcatel's Genesys contact center software business.

Active Signal and Voxpilot Partner to Provide Voice-Driven Applications to the European Market

DUBLIN, IRELAND - Active Signal Inc. and Voxpilot announced they have joined forces to provide scalable voice-driven multi-language solutions for carriers and enterprises.

General Magic's magicTalk Platform Delivered by VoiceGenie

SUNNYVALE, CA and TORONTO, ONTARIO - General Magic Inc. and VoiceGenie Technologies Inc. announced they have signed a value-added reseller partnership agreement.

VoicePC Selects ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking to Enable Voice-Activated Computing

PEABODY, MA - ScanSoft Inc. announced that VoicePC has selected ScanSoft's recently launched Dragon NaturallySpeaking v6 to deliver a fully integrated voice-activated personal computer.

Sakrament Company has Announced the Availability of Sakrament TTS Engine v2.0

MINSK, BELARUS - Sakrament company has announced the availability of Sakrament TTS Engine v2.0.

Somerfield Selects Voxware's VoiceLogistic for Initial Deployment

PRINCETON, NJ - Voxware Inc. announced that Somerfield plc has selected Voxware's VoiceLogistics solution for deployment in one of their UK distribution facilities.

Chant Keeps the World Talking with Latest Tool Set

LOS ANGELES, CA - Chant Inc. announced availability of a new tool set for developing software that speaks and listens.

NMS Communications and Pactolus Demonstrate SIP Integration in IP Media Gateway

FRAMINGHAM, MA - NMS Communications has demonstrated integration of Fusion with a SIP software stack from Pactolus Communications Software Corporation.

LumenVox Announces Speech Driven Information System V2.5

SAN DIEGO, CA - LumenVox unveiled version 2.5 of their Speech Driven Information System.

Telisma Launches Its Densifier

PARIS, FRANCE - Telisma launches Telisma's densifier. The densifier reduces the data flow towards the ASR client by porting a set of ASR pre-processing modules onto selected telephony boards.

Voiceware announces VoiceText American English - Paul

SEOUL, KOREA - Voiceware announced that it has started sales of VoiceText American English - Paul, the male voice.

iVoice to Enter into Merger and Acquisition Discussions with Several Companies

MATAWAN, NJ -iVoice Inc. announced a recently adopted acquisition strategy employed to take advantage of low industry valuations and weak IPO market.

Partnership of ejTalk and Voxpilot Brings More Voice Technology to Europe

DETROIT, MI and DUBLIN, IRELAND - ejTalk and Voxpilot have announced a partnership to address the cutting-edge of voice technology.

InfoTalk and Jingxin Beidou Join Forces to Launch Carrier-Grade Voice Portal in China

BEIJING and HONG KONG, CHINA - InfoTalk and Beijing Jingxin Beidou Information Service Center announced the deployment of the Beijing Telecom 262 voice portal, a carrier-grade voice portal in China.

Cepstral Announces Technology Partnership with SpeechWorks

PITTSBURGH, PA - Cepstral LLC announced a technology agreement with SpeechWorks. Cepstral is working with SpeechWorks on the development of a small footprint, multilingual unit selection TTS system.

InfoSpace Powers Verizon Wireless Launch of WAP, SMS and Speech-Enabled Wireless Data Services

BELLEVUE, WA and SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - InfoSpace Inc. announced that the company is providing its wirelesssoftware services and applications for the launch of WAP, SMS andSpeech-enabled data services by Verizon Wireless Puerto Rico.

NMS Communications Introduces the CompactPCI Voice Processing, Media Server Platforms

NMS Communications introduces the AG 2000C, an analog CompactPCI (cPCI) telephony platform.

Phonetic Sysytems Slashes Cost and Complexity of Enterprise Conferencing, Calling Cards and Messaging

SAN JOSE, C.A. - Phonetic Systems announced its Enterprise Call Connection Solution.

Aculab supports Nuance 8 and Linux

MILTON KEYNES, UK - To ensure the continued development of applications utilizing the latest technology, Aculab's Audio Provider now supports Nuance 8 and Linux operating system.

National Federation of the Blind Makes Newspapers Talk with SpeechWorks Speech Technologies

BOSTON, MA - SpeechWorks announced that the National Federation of the Blind has gone live with its next generation NEWSLINE service, which uses SpeechWorks' ETI-Eloquence TTS technology.

iBasis Unveils Voice XML 2.0 Application Hosting Service

BURLINGTON, MA - iBasis Inc. announced commercial availability of the iBasis SpeechPort VoiceXML 2.0 platform built using technology from SpeechWorks.

Flashpoint Studios Completes Voice Prompts for Vialto Corp.

SAN DIEGO, CA - Flashpoint Studios recently completed several hundred voice prompts for Vialto Corporation's new voice driven application for mobile access.

Fonix Speech Solutions Power Hitachi Semiconductor Platforms

SALT LAKE CITY, UT and SAN JOSE, CA - Fonix Corporation and Hitachi Semiconductor announced the availability of a solution that combines the Hitachi hardware and Fonix voice recognition software for in-vehicle computing systems.

SpeechTime Selects ScanSoft RealSpeak for Voice-Controlled Information Systems

PEABODY, MA and STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - ScanSoft Inc. announced that SpeechTime has selected ScanSoft RealSpeak to create voice-controlled information services in Sweden.

Integy Software Partners with VoxPilot, VoiceGenie

Integy Software and Voxpilot announced a development partnership agreement.

Fluency Sits at the Heart of First Resort's Booking System

Fluency Voice Technology has launched a system with The First Resort to provide an advanced speech recognition and call routing technology solution to its Manchester call center.

SandCherry and Kirusa Partner to Deliver Multimodal Solutions

SAN JOSE, CA - SandCherry Inc. and Kirusa announced a partnership to provide an integrated wireless communications solution.

Ketchum and The Beryl Companies Use Advanced Speech Recognition Technology

DALLAS, TX - Ketchum and The Beryl Companies are partnering to provide medical information to individuals living with diabetes across America.

Cox Enterprises Announces the Sale of Cox Voice Services

ATLANTA, GA - Cox Enterprises Inc. has announced the sale of Cox Voice Services, the Infoventures of Atlanta facility, to Automated Responses Interactive.