ASRNews    March 2001, Volume 12 No. 3

Market, Investment and Technical News of the Emerging Speech Recognition Industry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Telespree "Over the Counter Wireless" Uses Nuance ASR

Speech Technology Makes Voice-Driven Handset/Disposable Air Time/Power Pack Workable for the Mass Market

Believe it or not, not everyone in the US owns a cell phone. In fact, some market statistics indicate that about 60% of Americans are not part of the wireless world. Market research firm, IDC, pegs wireless penetration in the United States at the end of 2003 at only 45.9 percent.

Telespree Communications, (San Francisco, CA) hopes to change that by employing speech recognition technology from Nuance in a one-button, voice-driven handset/air time and power pack combination designed for the mass market. Telespree will sell its prepaid wireless delivery platform and handset combo to the carrier market. The hope is to overcome the cost, complexity and challenge of traditional distribution channels for wireless service, somewhat like disposable cameras did in the photo industry.

Telespree’s phone is a handset, paired with a detachable AirClip, a prepaid airtime and power supply cartridge. It can be sold at diverse retail outlets, such as grocery, drug or video stores, or gasoline stations. These types of channels reduce dedicated sales costs. There will be no contract with the carrier. The phone is pre-activated, charged, and ready to use. Replenishing airtime is done by purchasing additional AirClips, available in 30-, 60-, 90-, and 120-minute increments, at these same retail outlets.

The Telespree phone is operated by voice only. It has a single on/off button. When pressed, the caller can say the phone number and be connected. To move beyond continuous digit recognition, consumers may pre-program a Telespree ID number, to reference personal stored profiles, like frequently called numbers, address books, and pre-set call restrictions.

A smart server/thin client system, the Intelligent Service Manager (ISM) forms the backbone of the offering. It is a back-end system network element that is compatible with the operator’s mobile standard. It runs on Compaq Computer Corp.’s NonStop Himalaya platform. The ISM manages prepaid billing, the Nuance speech recognition engine, automatic provisioning and user profiling.

The server will also provide a delivery platform for new speech-enabled features and services.

The Telespree solution will help wireless carriers enter new consumer markets, reaching people not served by existing wireless products. It should reduce carrier costs related to customer acquisition, activation and operations. With mass-market adoption, the incremental airtime minutes sold will contribute to the bottom line of the operator. It will also maximize revenue potential of existing infrastructure.

Telespree Communications, founded in January 1999, has patented its prepaid wireless communications delivery platform aimed at the mass market. Last fall, Telespree raised $19 million in a second round of funding led by Lucent Venture Partners. Other investors included Lightspeed Venture Partners, Newbury Ventures and Koor Venture Capital. Telespree’s total capital raised to date is $25.5 million.

Contact: Lissa Franklin, Telespree Corp., (415) 581-0800.

 

 

Aeritas Mobile Check-in and Boarding System

Nuance Voice Authentication Used In Combined, Single Session Voice And Text Interaction

Aeritas Inc. (Irving, TX) has developed an airplane boarding expediter system that uses Nuance voice authentication, combined with bar code technology. Aeritas Express For Travel, which will begin testing soon, would allow enrolled passengers to by-pass the usual boarding conventions, like standing in line, and waiting for rows to be called, and walk directly onto the plane.

Passengers would perform a one-time registration process to establish a voice print for identification. The only other requirements are a Web-enabled wireless phone and electronic ticket. Prior to the scheduled flight, the airline's check-in system can contact the traveler’s WAP phone or PDA, verify the voice print and then supply a screenshot of a bar-coded boarding pass. The passenger just waves the bar code image in front of a scanner located at the assigned airport gate before boarding the plane. A text message will accompany each boarding-pass image, listing seat, gate and flight information.

The service integrates with back-end systems and works with existing gate reader equipment. Airline companies maximize their investment in existing technology and minimize the costs of re-training gate agents. In addition, as a completely paperless solution, there are cost savings when the quantity of printed boarding passes is reduced.

Aeritas recently announced agreements with Sabre Inc., and Siemens Business Services, Division Transportation (Germany). Testing of this first-of-its kind service with select U.S. and European airlines is scheduled for this quarter, with rollout planned for later this year.

Contact: Helen Pitts, Aeritas, Inc., (214) 260-0319, helen.pitts@aeritas.com.

 

 

7GT and Big Sis Develop Speech Applications

Arete Industries, Inc. (OTC BB: AREE) provides an incubator housing for six clients, two of which are doing work with speech technologies. Seventh Generation Technologies, Inc. is developing an operating system for robots that will enable a robot to control its own behavior, be programmed by voice commands and to adapt to its tasks and experiences. 7GT will soon release a prototype of the new software. 7GT is led by Dr. William Hutchison and Dr. Kenneth Stephens. The Digital Brain integrates vision, audition, touch, and speech recognition inputs within 7GT's proprietary neural network software. The Digital Brain is based on 7GT’s patented adaptive system that combines a neural network and genetic algorithm for fast and efficient optimization for any control challenge. The first pilot demonstration was on March 3, 2001 at the Robot Expo. The release of the beta version is scheduled for June 21, 2001 (For trial and development purposes only) and the first commercial release is scheduled for June, 2002.

Big Sis is developing voice recognition software to be sold as an add-on to existing voice recognition applications that will increase accuracy and expand available vocabularies. This company is a spin-off of 7GT. Big Sis has created a demo of the software, is in the process of contracting an outside firm to have it developed, and is actively engaged in an executive search to find a champion to lead this company. Currently, Big Sis is led by Tom Gorman.

Contact: James Stock, Stock Enterprises, Inc., (702) 614-0003, ir@AreteIndustries.com .

 

 

MARKETING

 

ART’s Continuous Digit ASR Part of Stinger SDK: ART, Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc., (Atlanta, GA/Simi Valley, CA) smARTspeak CS speech recognition engine will be part of the standard offering in the Software Adaptation Kit for Microsoft’s smart phone platform, code-named Stinger. ART collaborated with Microsoft to adapt ART’s smARTspeak CS v4.0 to the SAPI 5 interface for the Stinger platform. smARTspeakCS adds the feature of Continuous Speech Digit Dialing to ART’s smARTspeak solution. This technology enables users to dial by saying a phone number, without pausing between digits. Contact: Yakov Shulman, ART Ltd., + 972-3-642-7242 ext 113, yakov@artcomp.com; Ramsay Hall, ART Inc., (770) 934 6036, ramsay@artcomp.com.

 

Alexis Adds Nuance Technologies: alexis communications inc./COM2001.com, (San Diego, CA) will integrate Nuance (Menlo Park, CA) (NASDAQ: NUAN) speech recognition and voice authentication software into its alexis Unified Communications platform. alexis communications inc./COM2001.com provides Unified Communications software for Application Service Providers and small to large-scale enterprises. alexis provides a converged voice and data solution, and combines services such as unified messaging, digital conferencing, one number access, Find Me/Follow Me, call forwarding and IP telephony, all with a multilingual voice interface, in one comprehensive software package. Contact: www.alexis.com, (888) COM2201.

 

FlashSpot Teams With SPWX: FlashSpot Networks, (New York, NY) a provider of interactive audio advertising solutions, has partnered with SpeechWorks International (Boston, MA) (NASDAQ: SPWX) to provide SpeechWorks’ customers deploying speech-enabled applications with a revenue-generating interactive audio advertising model. The companies will jointly promote the benefits and effectiveness of interactive audio advertising for voice publishers, unified messaging services, voice over IP services and telematics providers. FlashSpot Networks will provide SpeechWorks’ partners and customers with an advertising sales staff and ad-serving technology to capture the full potential of the interactive audio platform. In addition, FlashSpot will provide SpeechWorks and the SpeechMedia Alliance, a referral network of monetization services that functions as an incubator for emerging business models, with audio advertising effectiveness research, including response rates and branding impact studies. Contact: Jason Glickman, FlashSpot Networks, (212) 860-3000, jason@flashspotnetworks.com; Marie Ruzzo, SpeechWorks International, (617) 428-4444, marie.ruzzo@speechworks.com.

 

Cisco Will Add Nuance: Under a new, multi-year agreement, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) will incorporate Nuance's (NASDAQ:NUAN) speech recognition and voice authentication software into its Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (AVVID) products. Cisco will integrate Nuance's speech software into its products to add human speech to its Internet Protocol-based enterprise communication solutions, including Cisco's Call Manager and associated applications. The AVVID products are scheduled to launch in the second quarter 2001. Contact: Jennifer Yanez-Pastor, Nuance, (650) 847-7104, jyp@nuance.com.

 

IBM WebSphere Voice Server and Dialogic: IBM will be integrating its WebSphere Voice Server, which includes ViaVoice speech technology, with the Dialogic voice portal reference system. This will make it easier for Dialogic’s existing and future customers to create applications in VoiceXML and Java. IBM WebSphere Voice Server provides developers with a flexible interface based on industry standards to create applications that can enable voice access to information around the clock. WebSphere is Internet infrastructure software, or middleware, that enables businesses to develop, host, run and integrate e-business applications. IBM first introduced WebSphere Voice Server for its DirectTalk platform, as well as for Voice over IP (VoIP). The integration with Dialogic technology will make it easier for developers working on different telephony platforms to create voice applications using industry-standard technologies, such as VoiceXML and Java. Companies can order IBM WebSphere Voice Server for the Dialogic platform beginning in June, starting at $15,000/processor. Contact: Steve Eisenstadt, IBM, (919) 543-1453, se@us.ibm.com.

 

Microsoft To Ship Fonix FAAST In Kit: Fonix has signed an agreement with Microsoft whereby Microsoft will ship Fonix FAAST Speech Solutions in each Microsoft Smart Phone Software Adaptation Kit (SAK). The Smart Phone platform, currently code-named Stinger, is software that powers new generation of color mobile phones with advanced mobile Internet and personal information management (PIM) functionality. Stinger is designed specifically to take advantage of 2.5 and 3G broadband wireless networks and enable a wealth of services such as secure corporate and web access, email, and up-to-date PIM. Contact: Scott Lindsey, Fonix Corp., (801) 553-6600, sales@fonix.com.

 

Nuance To Provide ASR To M7: Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN) has agreed to provide wireless Internet provider, M7 (San Diego, CA) with ASR software and technical support. M7, launched by venture capital firm, ideaEDGE Ventures (San Diego, CA) hopes to simplify how businesses use mobile Internet systems, by hosting applications being developed for mobile phones and other wireless devices. M7 recently received a $20 million funding package from QUALCOMM. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000.

 

New SpeechWorks Government Group Formed: SpeechWorks International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPWX), has formed SpeechWorks Government Systems Group, to market its speech solutions to government agencies. With speech recognition powering government call centers and information lines, agencies can provide a cost-effective method for communicating information to the public, reach the majority of Americans who don't have Internet access, and simultaneously support New Freedom and Section 508 initiatives for information access to the disabled community. SpeechWorks is already working with partners to address the government market. Its government technology partners include Aspect Communications, AT&T Federal Systems, Avaya Federal Systems, Frank Solutions, Talx, Unisys Federal Systems and Worldcom Government Systems. For example, SpeechWorks is working with the Federal Systems Group of Aspect Communications to deploy a speech-enabled Tax Refund Status application for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The multi-lingual application will allow taxpayers to receive information on their tax refund status, just by speaking into any phone. Contact: Leah Lesser, SpeechWorks International, Inc., (617) 428-4444, leah.lesser@speechworks.com.

 

MapInfo & Nortel Networks Plan Voice-Activated Concierge Service Platform: MapInfo (NASDAQ: MAPS) and Nortel Networks (NSYE/TSE: NT) have agreed to jointly market to service providers an integrated platform for delivery of voice-activated Wireless Internet "concierge services." These services are intended to provide location-based information — such as traffic and weather conditions, or directions to the nearest copy center, restaurant, shopping mall or automated teller machine — to business professionals, tourists and other travelers using mobile phones, personal digital assistants, pagers, laptop computers and other wireless devices. MapInfo and Nortel Networks intend to enable delivery of these services using voice commands over existing wireless networks and subscriber devices, as well as over emerging third generation (3G) networks. Contact: Beatrice Germain, Nortel Networks, 33 1 39 44 40 28, germainb@nortelnetworks.com; Jay Barta, Nortel Networks, (972) 685-2381, jbarta@nortelnetworks.com.

 

MediaGold & L&H: Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV (EASDAQ: LHSP; OTC: LHSPQ) has signed a republishing agreement for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region with MediaGold, a, European business development company for IT, software and e-commerce publishers. MediaGold has the right to localize, manufacture, package, market and distribute current and future versions of L&H and Dragon Systems voice recognition and translation packaged software for retail markets in the EMEA market. MediaGold’s activities will include marketing, sales, production, public relations and first-line technical support. MediaGold, has been representing L&H and Dragon Systems’ products in France and Germany since 1998. Contact: Ron Schuermans, Lernout &Hauspie, +32-57-22-8888, ron.schuermans@lhs.be

 

Nuance Adds Swana Bank Member To Client List: Nuance (NASDAQ:NUAN) announced that Tsubasa Securities, (Tokyo, Japan) a member of the Sanwa Bank group, has selected Nuance speech recognition software and integrator Trans Cosmos to deliver a wide range of voice-enabled customer service applications. In the first application, Tsubasa Securities retail clients will be able to access stock market data through voice-driven commands over the telephone. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000.

 

Prairie Licenses Nuance Technology: Prairie Systems, Inc., (Omaha, NB), a privately-held company specializing in the delivery of integrated Internet and telephony applications, is licensing Nuance’s ASR and voice authentication software to provide natural language access for businesses and call centers. Prairie Systems is working on a new generation of speech recognition applications that will allow for the seamless integration of the new software with a variety of IVR user interfaces. Call centers will be able to benefit from integrated speech enabled IVR applications by offering their customers better services and reducing their own costs. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000.

 

Sound Advantage and Artisoft: Artisoft, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) (NASDAQ: ASFT), a provider of software-based phone systems, and Sound Advantage (Irvine, CA), a provider of voice-driven computer telephony solutions, have joined forces through Artisoft's Open Communications Alliance to provide speech activated business communications solutions. End users will be able to use Artisoft's TeleVantage software-based PBX with the SANDi electronic receptionist from Sound Advantage, to manage business communications through speech recognition and graphical user interfaces. Artisoft’s TeleVantage operates on Windows NT systems and uses off-the-shelf computer and telephony hardware, lowering the total cost of ownership for businesses. TeleVantage provides intelligent call management, ACD functionality, a graphical interface, IP telephony, Web browser capability, and messaging features. SANDi is an electronic receptionist that uses Lucent's ASR and TTS technology to recognize conversational English and respond to commands such as call, transfer and voicemail, enabling callers to access phone system features without using touchtone. Contact: Sara Usilton Artisoft, Inc., (617) 354-0600 x183, susilton@artisoft.com; Cheryl Day, Sound Advantage, (949) 476-1400, cday@soundadvantage.com.

 

Sound Advantage Adopts Dialogic CT Media Server: Sound Advantage (Irvine, CA), provider of the voice-driven computer telephony solution called SANDi (Sound Advantage Natural Dialog Interface), has adopted the Dialogic CT Media server software to build SANDi products, including the original SANDi 2.0 electronic receptionist and SANDi CRM. SANDi will be included in the first wave of products for the Intel Converged Communications Platform that will be released in the first half of 2001. More than 300 SANDi dealers are already selling the product across the country. The Dialogic CT Media server software package will be available for SANDi dealers to incorporate into their sales packages. Contact: Radley Moss, L&L Communications, (954) 426-5127, rmoss@llcomm.com.

 

VocalPoint and SpeechWorks: VocalPoint Technologies (San Francisco, CA) will integrate the SpeechWorks International (NASDAQ: SPWX) text-to-speech engine, Speechify, into its proprietary VoiceBrowser technology. VocalPoint offers products and services that provide immediate voice access to HTML and XML Web content and applications from any phone. VocalPoint’s voice browsing technology automatically converts HTML content to voice, extending existing corporate Web assets into phone services with minimal development requirements. The Speechify engine will be used to provide aurally, regularly changing information like e-mail and weather reports. VocalPoint’s voice-based HTML browser allows businesses to build customized voice portals and services by integrating its proprietary technology into their network infrastructure, or by utilizing VocalPoint's fully-outsourced ASP (application service provider) solution. In late March, VocalPoint, announced a new version of its iVocalPoint VoiceBrowser product designed for integration into enterprise voice portal and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platforms. The integration with existing IVR platforms allows IVR solution suppliers to provide their customers the benefit of Web-based voice services -- without content rewriting efforts. Contact: Michelle Sabolich VocalPoint Technologies, (415) 615-0600 ext. 206, sabolich@vocalpoint.com; Marie Ruzzo, SpeechWorks International, (617) 428-4444, marie.ruzzo@speechworks.com.

 

Gold’s Vonetix Brings Nuance To CONVERSANT IVR: Avaya will be using Gold Systems’ (Boulder, CO) Vonetix to bring Nuance's speech recognition to its CONVERSANT IVR 8.0. Vonetix's new features include a "speech channel" which allows the CONVERSANT system and other leading IVR platforms, to operate on Nuance's speech engine and VoiceXML Interpreter. The ability to run on Nuance's VoiceXML Interpreter, along with its speech recognition engine, makes CONVERSANT a robust IVR, capable of supporting any voice application written in the VoiceXML standard. The first Vonetix 3.0 customer implementation will take place at an undisclosed site in Europe. Future Vonetix speech engine plug-ins are being planned that will enable enterprise customers to use different speech engine providers without rewriting their existing speech recognition applications. In addition, Vonetix 3.0 will include an "application channel" that allows for a Java application development environment. Vonetix, which has been standard on the CONVERSANT System Version 8.0 since May 2000, provides telephone access to Web-based content, eliminating the need for companies to duplicate their Web sites’ back-end infrastructure for automated telephone access. Without Vonetix, companies frequently must develop expensive, application-specific code to communicate with such databases. Gold Systems has alliances with Avaya, InterVoice-Brite, Nuance, Philips Speech Processing and SpeechWorks. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000; Julia Freund, Gold Systems, Inc. (303) 447-2774, jfreund@goldsys.com, www.goldsys.com.

 

TEXT-TO-SPEECH

 

Fonix FAAST Framework 5.1: Fonix (Salt Lake City, UT) (OCTBB: FONX) unveiled the 5.1 version of the Fonix FAAST Text-To-Speech Framework at the annual CT Expo on March 6-8, 2001. The FAAST TTS 5.1 Framework includes new versions of the Fonix Unlimited Vocabulary TTS and Customized Vocabulary TTS Engines. FAAST TTS version 5.1 offers additional language support, e-mail support, enhanced markup language support, and improved re-sampling. TTS soundbanks are currently available for general release of U.K. English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, and Norwegian. Fonix FAAST TTS 5.1 is currently available for Microsoft Windows 95/98, NT, ME, and Windows 2000 operating systems and will be available on several Unix platforms, including Linux and Solaris. The FAAST TTS 5.1 product is expected to ship April 2001. Contact: Scott Lindsey, Fonix Corp., (801) 553-6600, sales@fonix.com.

 

Webversa Voice Now With Speechify: Webversa, (Fairfax, VA) is integrating SpeechWorks’ Speechify text-to-speech technology, with Webversa Voice, the company’s enterprise voice-enabled solution. Webversa Voice lets mobile users retrieve and update information contained in enterprise applications and Web sites using a telephone and voice commands. The system also delivers interactive alerts to mobile devices such as phones, pagers and WAP devices, and to e-mail accounts, notifying users of changes and allowing immediate responses. The addition of Speechify to the Webversa Voice Solution, will allow users to access and listen to text-based information, such as email, over the phone. Contact: Peter Jacobs, Webversa, Inc., (703) 207-0040, pjacobs@webversa.com.

 

Verascape Adds Speechify: Verascape, Inc. (Oakbrook Terrace, IL), a developer of high capacity VoiceXML speech platforms, will incorporate SpeechWorks' Speechify text-to-speech engine in its newly announced VeraServ voice platform products, designed to add voice access to Web site content and data. With the addition of Speechify, Verascape will provide a complete VoiceXML platform that will enable customers to have Web content read to users over any phone. The VeraServ product family is an all-in-one voice solution capable of hosting multiple, high-capacity voice applications. It is designed for application service providers, voice portal developers and enterprises. Contact: Michael Vassolo, Verascape, Inc., (847) 628-7908, mvassolo@verascape.com.

 

 

CRM

 

SPWX Answers Thrifty Rate Questions: Thrifty Car Rental (Tulsa, OK), is using technology from SpeechWorks International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPWX) (Boston, MA) to allow people to call its 1-800-THRIFTY phone number and use voice commands to hear rental car rates. It is the rental car industry’s first use of interactive speech recognition to help customers in shopping car rental rates. Comparative shopping of rental car rates is a significant portion of the industry’s call volume. The self-service system will reduce the time operators spend providing information to callers who may not become customers. With the system, callers respond to prompts, asking what type of car they’d like to rent, where and when. They are then given an estimated price. Should they want to make a reservation, the caller is transferred to a live agent, whose screen has captured all of the relevant information as stated by the caller. Thrifty is a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: DTG). Contact: Leah Lesser, SpeechWorks International, Inc., (617) 428-4444, leah.lesser@speechworks.com .

 

Jiffy Lube Adds ASR To Customer Care: Jiffy Lube International, Inc., (Chicago, IL) has tapped ShopTalk Networks, (ASRNews December 2000) a provider of voice-enabled applications for customer relationship management, to create the company's first mobile, voice-enabled oil change reminder service. The service uses Nuance ASR and the Tellme Network (Mountain View, CA) platform. The new m-Commerce (mobile commerce) initiative promotes the phone as a new permission-based customer relationship channel and adds speech recognition and an automated opt-in alert feature to Jiffy Lube's customer relationship management strategies. The "My Jiffy Lube Reminder" program began at Jiffy Lube’s 49 company-owned stores in the Houston area on February 16th, 2001 and will eventually be available at other locations. There are more than 2,200 service center locations nationwide. Contact: Randy Kambic, Jiffy Lube, (212) 973-1356.

 

VarTec Asks PriceInteractive To Evaluate Customer Service: VarTec Telecom, Inc., a provider of "dial around" long-distance service, has asked voice ASP PriceInteractive (Reston, VA) to analyze how VarTec Telecom can best implement advanced speech recognition to streamline customer service operations. PriceInteractive, which recently announced an agreement to be acquired by Internet-based voice communications provider iBasis (NASDAQ: IBAS), will evaluate VarTec Telecom's current support system, analyze any gaps with customer relationship management (CRM) best practices, and provide recommendations regarding how speech technology can be utilized within their customer service operations. PriceInteractive will look specifically at the possibility of creating a self-service voice portal. This portal will allow VarTec Telecom customers to obtain responses to their questions or order new services by simply speaking into any wireless or wireline phone using natural language cues, and without involving a live operator. VarTec president A. Joe Miller Jr. expects that once the review is complete, the company will look first to the PriceInteractive SpeechPort platform and infrastructure to serve as the company’s customer support foundation. "We are confident that, by the end of the year, PriceInteractive will be helping us with our European operations." PriceInteractive’s SpeechPort service is a hosted offering that allows e-businesses, content providers, carriers and portals to provide speech- activated enterprise and Web content to end users through a natural speech interface. SpeechPort is delivered through a multi-tier service infrastructure that pairs a speech recognition engine from SpeechWorks International (NASDAQ: SPWX) with PriceInteractive’s carrier-grade telecom and wireless hosting facility. Contact: Sharon Murphy, PriceInteractive, (800) 341-7800, smurphy@priceinteractive.com.

 

DCC Cable Call Centers: Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC) (Franklin, TN) and SpeechWorks International (NASDAQ:SPWX) have partnered to deliver speech-enabled functionality for subscribers calling into cable television (CATV) customer contact centers. SpeechWorks' ASR will be added to DCC's widely implemented ARU3 Next Generation IVR solution. Currently used by more than 500 cable, wireless and DBS operators throughout North America, ARU3 offers subscribers and service technicians access to routine information and account balances, pay-per-view (PPV) ordering and service upgrades. Additionally, ARU3 provides contact centers with enhanced caller identification, multi-region call routing and real-time maintenance of menu options and voice commands. The added functionality of speech recognition from SpeechWorks enables contact centers deploying ARU3 to achieve as much as 50 percent automation; almost double the average rate made possible through touch-tone response. Contact: Dave Krikac, Dialogic Communications Corporation, (800) 723-3207, www.dccusa.com, dkrikac@dccusa.com; Leah Lesser, SpeechWorks International, Inc., (617) 428-4444, leah.lesser@speechworks.com .

 

MOBILE COMMERCE

 

eBizPortals Will Add Shopping Capabilities to netECHO: InternetSpeech (San Jose, CA) an audio Internet technology provider, has partnered with eBizPortals (Santa Clara, CA), a provider of mobile-commerce infrastructure software and services, to add shopping capabilities to InternetSpeech’s consumer netECHO product (ASRNews December 2000). netECHO lets users access any Web page from any phone, and hear the Web page content read out loud. Subscribers can also hear and respond to voice mail, and access voice portal-type services, such as weather reports, current news and stock quotes. netECHO uses speech recognition technology from SpeechWorks International and L&H’s L&H RealSpeak TTS. With eBizPortals’ "m-commerce platform," netECHO users will also be able to shop for hundreds of products from brand-name merchants and make purchases with voice commands. Future applications will allow voice customers to access entertainment information, purchase movie and concert tickets, and book restaurant reservations. InternetSpeech launched its netECHO consumer product in November 2000. Contact: Dr. Emdad Khan, InternetSpeech, (408) 360-7730; Brad Reinard, eBiz Portals, Inc., (408) 845-9302, brad@ebizportals.com .

 

Qpass TalkWallet Aids Mobile Commerce: Qpass (Seattle, WA), a provider of digital commerce services, will offer the Qpass TalkWallet, a voice-enabled e-Wallet and transaction service for mobile commerce, using speech recognition and voice authentication technology from Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN). The new Qpass products and services will enable telecommunications companies, wireless carriers and voice portal providers to offer their customers secure and intuitive voice-activated buying from their mobile phones. Built using the Qpass commerce service, Qpass TalkWallet securely stores, manages and transfers personal and payment information for use during commerce transactions, delivering that information directly into a merchant's existing order processing system. This means that consumers no longer need to enter personal or credit card information with each new transaction or merchant. This type of voice-powered capability will enable wireless carriers and voice portals to increase their transaction revenue, decrease abandonment rates and retain customers on the mobile platform. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000; Jennifer Cranton, Qpass, (206) 695-8621, jcranton@qpass.com.

 

Sales Force Automation App from iHello Uses Nuance ASR: IHello (Mountain View, CA), a provider of speech-enabled applications for the mobile workforce, will work with Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN), to provide mobile salespeople access to critical enterprise applications using any phone. iHello will integrate Nuance speech recognition software into iHello’s flagship suite of mobile sales force applications for Fortune 5000 enterprises. By integrating Nuance speech recognition software with its own VoiceXML and back-end technology, iHello enables mobile salespeople to access their Sales Force Automation (SFA), Enterprise Resource Management (ERP), and e-mail applications using spoken commands. In a single phone call, salespeople can check product availability and complete an order, create new action items, listen to and send e-mails, deliver a proposal, update sales forecasts, and connect to any customer simply by saying the customer’s name. Nuance speech recognition technology is also being used in sales automation applications by Seibel (Bellevue, WA) and PeopleSoft, though interface creator, JustTalk. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000; John Canfield, iHello, (650) 335-0114.

 

APPLICATIONS

 

AirTran Air Info Application Uses SPWX: AirTran Airways has deployed a new IVR system that uses SpeechWorks International, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPWX) technologies to provide flight information to callers. Callers to 800-AIR-TRAN are able to receive up-to-the-minute flight departure, arrival and gate details at any hour, any day of the week. The new system emulates a live conversation with Marsha Crenshaw, the voice of AirTran Airways, and eliminates the old practice of transmitting information through the telephone keypad. Callers simply speak into the system and Marsha replies with automated answers, instantly. For callers who are hesitant to use a voice recognition system, basic instructions are offered at the beginning of each call. If at any time a customer wants to opt out of the automated system, he or she is instructed to say "agent" and is immediately transferred to an AirTran customer service rep. The SpeechWorks system is directly linked to the AirTran Airways flight information database, so information on the cause of a delay, in addition to up-to-date estimated arrival and departure times, are immediately available to callers. The phone system runs on a platform from SpeechWorks’ partner, InterVoice-Brite. Contact: Leah Lesser, SpeechWorks International, Inc., (617) 428-4444, leah.lesser@speechworks.com.; Jim Brown, AirTran Airways, (407) 251-5578.

 

ASP Appriss Hosts American Airlines App: American Airlines has selected Appriss (Louisville, KY) technology to host a new flight status notification service. The new service, available through AA.com, alerts passengers to departure and arrival times via telephone or wireless devices. This new service allows individual passengers to choose how, when, and by which device they want to be notified in the event of schedule changes, arrival times, gate changes, delays, cancellations or confirmations. The service is the first of its kind to use voice. The service automatically notifies passengers of flight schedule changes by voice, email, or wireless message via telephone, pager, text-enabled wireless phone or personal digital assistant (PDA). Powered by Appriss, this new service allows individual passengers to choose how, when, and by which device they want to be notified in the event of schedule changes, arrival times, gate changes, delays, cancellations or confirmations. American Airlines’ vice president of e-business, John Samuel, noted, "We are pleased that our notification service offers our customers more choices than the competition by providing voice- messaging capabilities in addition to text-messaging options. The Flight Status Notification application is built on Appriss’ platform, which incorporates speech recognition and text-to-speech technology from Nuance, computer-telephony integration technology from Dialogic Corporation, and database technology from Oracle, hosted on Intel/Windows NT servers and integrated using Appriss’ proprietary software. Voice ASP, Appriss, also offers Victim Information and Notification service, which allows crime victims and the general public to obtain timely information over the telephone about the custody status of offenders. This service also uses Nuance technology. Contact: www.appriss.com.

 

EasyBenefits.com Selects VocalPoint: EasyBenefits.com (Columbia, SC) has selected VocalPoint Technologies (San Francisco, CA) to provide voice access to its Web-based human resources services via any phone. VocalPoint offers products and services that provide access to Web content and applications by voice, using SpeechWorks International technology. Its voice browsing technology automatically converts HTML content to voice. EasyBenefits.com will expand its Web-based human resources services to provide telephone access to its healthcare and benefits selection systems for all its customers. For example, EasyBenefits.com users will be able to check their current 401K investment mix, obtain corporate vacation day policies, locate doctors and dentists, using their voice instead of their computer. Contact: Joseph Stone, EasyBenefits.com, (888) 323-7844, Michelle Sabolich, VocalPoint Technologies, (415) 615-0600 ext. 206, sabolich@vocalpoint.com .

 

General Magic Completes Initial Delivery for OnStar: General Magic, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMGC) has completed the delivery of the initial feature set for OnStar’s Virtual Advisor. General Magic was selected by OnStar to design and host the Virtual Advisor. The Virtual Advisor gives subscribers the ability to build a personalized profile on the OnStar.com Web page by entering information about favorite sports and sports teams, portfolio stocks, ZIP codes for relevant weather reports, and more. By pushing one button and issuing the voice command "Virtual Advisor," subscribers can immediately hear their personalized information read to them via a General Magic voice user interface, created specifically for the in-car environment. The voice user interface, designed by General Magic, uses Nuance ASR and Fonix TTS. Contact: Erin Collopy, General Magic, (408) 774-4225, erin@generalmagic.com; Debbie Frakes, OnStar, (248) 588-4898.

 

MasterMind Adds SPWX Technologies to Carrier Class Apps: MasterMind Technologies will now offer the SpeechWorks 6.5 automated speech recognition solution and Speechify text-to-speech engine from SpeechWorks International (NASDAQ: SPWX) within its suite of carrier-class service applications, including its unified communications solution, EKKO, voice portal solution, ARGOS and Media Server, AOS. MasterMind Technologies is a provider of revenue-generating service solutions to communications service providers.

Its ARGOS voice portal solution, slated for release in Q2 ‘01, will allow users to browse the Web using a telephone or handheld wireless. ARGOS parses Web content for data, text, links and banners formatted as either XML or HTML, and will read and interact with VoiceXML-enabled Web pages using natural speech.

The EKKO Unified Communications solution blends telephone, fax, email and the Internet into one mailbox accessible via a wide variety of devices. Subscribers will use EKKO, enabled with SpeechWorks ASR and TTS engines to check calendars, messages, and access email over their phones.

The AOS Announcement Server, a carrier-class VoIP Media Server, delivers the first tier of enhanced IVR services to the converged networks. The AOS solution allows service providers to distribute high quality speech-enabled applications at the edges of their networks, resolving a previously unfulfilled technological void. Contact: Derek Kowalczyk, MasterMind Technologies, (202) 298-8500 x. 580, dkowalcz@mmtmail.com.

 

Qwest To Offer BeVocal Apps: Qwest Communications International, Inc. has selected BeVocal’s (Santa Clara, CA) Voice Dialer and Address Book applications for its wireless customers, and will launch the new service in its entire coverage area beginning Friday, March 23. The BeVocal Voice Dialer and Address Book enable callers to create voice-accessible phone lists and place calls by using voice commands such as "Call Bob at the office," or "Call Susan on her cell phone." The application uses Nuance speech technology. Contact: Elyse Philips, BeVocal, Inc., (408) 350-8318, elyse@bevocal.com.

Telecats Uses Philips Speech: Speech recognition technology from Philips Speech Processing (Dallas, TX) is being used by Telecats, a Dutch developer of call processing systems, to power the TimeGrip kilometer tracking service, K7, in the Netherlands. Already in use by thousands of Dutch since January 1, the TimeGrip service enables people who drive vehicles provided by their employers to track the kilometers they drive for business purposes. With Philips’ SpeechPearl speech recognition engine, customers use just their voice to interact with the system. TeleCats also says that it plans to offer the kilometer tracking service in other countries and is considering expansions to the system with other voice-enabled applications -- such as e-mail access and voice portal-type services. Contact: Joy Jennings, Philips Speech Processing, (972) 726-1200, joy.jennings@philips.com.

 

Wirenix VoContact: Wirenix’ (Dallas, TX) VoContact is a personal contact management solution with a speech recognition interface that allows callers to access people and information using their voice. In the initial release, VoContact, which uses Nuance ASR, offers the following features:

VoContact is one part of Wirenix’s total productivity solution including a voice-enabled calendar/scheduler and a web-based location service. These services are part of the Personal Assistant Manager (PAM) solution that will also include Unified Messaging in a future release. User trials are currently underway and Wirenix is interested in conducting additional trials with wireless and wireline carriers. Contact: John Cannon, Wirenix, Inc., (972) 930-7950 ext. 229, jcannon@wirenix.com.

 

PRODUCTS

 

Autonomy Technology Treats Voice and Data Alike

Autonomy Corp. plc, (NASDAQ: AUTN, EASDAQ: AUTN, LSE: AU) (Cambridge, UK), a provider of software infrastructure for the Web and the enterprise, has shipped its iVoice speech recognition technology to its first customers. Autonomy’s technology, based on the 18th century Bayes’ Theorem, is designed to manage digital information in both audio and text form. Autonomy’s iVoice technology was developed with the speech recognition software that Autonomy acquired from SoftSound Ltd. last year. The technology treats voice in the same way it treats text -- as just another form of unstructured information from which business value can be automatically extracted. By being able to treat voice like any other archived information, users can leverage voice mail messages, video clips, streaming media and customer service calls. Research teams, customer relations managers and other enterprise users will be able to obtain relevant broadcast information to help support business decisions and increase efficiency.

The first customer implementation of iVoice was deployed in conjunction with Autonomy’s Portal-in-a-Box and Active Knowledge solutions that automatically aggregate, categorize, hyperlink, personalize and deliver information from non-speech sources such as the Internet, the corporate intranet, office documents, and Documentum files. Initial sales of Autonomy's iVoice product have been made to Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and General Motors. Contact: Dr. Michael Lynch, Autonomy Corp., plc.

 

ONEder Auto Attendant Uses Nuance ASR: ONEder Technologies (Atlanta, GA), a voice recognition application developer for the commercial market, has finished testing and begun shipping its ONEder ASR application for the office environment. This new auto attendant application, which uses Nuance ASR. The new product can be implemented by almost any NT-based office telephony management system. ONEder ASR can be configured as a single server supporting as little as two concurrent calls or configured to service virtually an unlimited number of concurrent calls. It can be distributed across many servers with each server performing different functions. ONEder ASR supports 14 different languages and dialects. Currently, ONEder ASR is shipping and available in NA English and Latin American Spanish. Other languages and dialects are available on request. Contact: Jeffrey Johnson ONEder Technologies, (770) 454-9075, jjohnson@oneder.com.

 

PhoneticOperator 4.0: Phonetic Systems Inc. (Burlington, MA), developer of voice-driven information retrieval systems for large and dynamic data sources, has made a strategic upgrade to its flagship product, PhoneticOperator, a voice-driven auto attendant, call routing and information retrieval solution. PhoneticOperator 4.0 features improved integration for corporate IT and telecommunications infrastructure providing real-time voice access to databases ranging from a few thousand records to well over a million records. New features of PhoneticOperator 4.0 include:

Phonetic Systems’ customer base includes leading companies such as Atlantic Records, Fannie Mae and Microsoft Corporation. Contact: Stephanie Youker, Phonetic Systems, Inc. (781) 270-4123, syouker@phoneticsystems.com .

 

BeVocal Total Messaging Solution: BeVocal (Santa Clara, CA) has entered the messaging arena with the launch of the BeVocal Total Messaging Solution for telecommunications companies and enterprises. BeVocal's Total Messaging Solution supports the delivery of information to the user via voice, WAP, fax, email, and text paging and includes the BeVocal Voice Dialer, BeVocal E-Mail, BeVocal Address Book, BeVocal Notification, as well as BeVocal Voice Authentication for secure access to these applications. BeVocal uses Nuance speech technologies. BeVocal's Total Messaging Solution is aimed at carriers and will allow them to offer their customers a highly personalized, frequently used set of applications, that generate high customer satisfaction and lead to increased customer loyalty and retention. BeVocal will offer hosting capabilities that enable carrier customers to get up-and-running with the service within 30-45 days. Enterprises can adopt BeVocal's Voice Dialer and other components of the Total Messaging Solution as part of a corporate voice portal. For example, companies using BeVocal’s platform can voice-enable their employee name directory, plus mobile employees voice access to information such as work calendars, email and alerts, thus improving productivity. Contact: Elyse Philips, BeVocal, Inc., (408) 350-8318, elyse@bevocal.com.

 

Webley Demonstrates Voice Dial Tone On New Platform: Webley Systems, Inc., (Deerfield, IL/Washington, DC) a developer and marketer of natural speech-driven unified communications services, is migrating its full feature set to its new, pure IP-based media switching platform to support standard SIP-based IP devices and VoIP protocols. It expects to begin introducing its range of products to service providers, partners and resellers during the second quarter of this year. At Voice On the Net (VON) Phoenix, Webley demonstrated the first phase of its voice prompt "dial tone" and speech-controlled unified communication services that will be offered to users via an "always on" IP connection to a SIP phone. When the user goes off-hook, a toll-quality connection will be over IP to the Webley platform and a prompt asking, "What would you like to do?" will be played. The user will speak the command to reach a desired party or access the desired service. Some examples of commands might be: "Call Frank Thomas," "Set up a conference call," "Transfer my calls to my cell phone and office phone," or "Business News."

Since its inception in 1997, Webley Systems has believed that the key to driving user adoption of enhanced communications services, PSTN or IP-based, is a natural-speech recognition, conversational command menu set. Webley uses Nuance ASR and Lernout & Hauspie L&H RealSpeak TTS technology.

"The over-riding objective of Webley’s SIP-based media switching platform, which integrates feature-rich Unified Communications with a VoiceXML browser, is to facilitate the hosting of enhanced services for DSL providers, ASPs, and ISPs to enable them to evolve into next generation full service, Unified Communications suppliers" said Alex Kurganov, Webley System’s CTO. Contact: Hal Poel, Webley Systems Inc., (888) 444-6400.

 

 

EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGY

 

Conversay to Embed ASR in TI Chip: Conversay (Redmond, WA) plans to embed its speech recognition technology on chipsets from Texas Instruments designed for mobile Internet appliances. Using eXpressDSP Real-Time Software Technology, Conversay will embed its speech recognition technology into TI’s TMS320C5000 power-efficient, programmable DSP platform, optimized for mobile wireless devices such as PDAs, cell phones and Internet appliances. Contact: Steve Birge, Conversay, (425) 636-0709, steve.birge@conversay.com.

 

Fonix Optimizes for Intel: Fonix Corporation (OTC BB: FONX) has developed an optimized port of its Automatic Speech Recognition Engine for the new Intel Xscale micro architecture and the Intel Integrated Performance Primitives (IPP). This version will deliver speech recognition capabilities to mobile wireless devices including PDAs, smart phones, and automobiles. Fonix claims a more than 14% improvement in CPU utilization with the integration of the Intel IPP library into its ASR engine, allowing the addition of multiple technologies to the engine, such as more sophisticated neural networks, adaptive and active filtering, and echo cancellation. These added features provide higher recognition accuracy. Contact: Scott Lindsey, Fonix Corp., (801) 553-6600, sales@fonix.com .

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

New Voice For Voiceware: Korean speech developer Voiceware (Seoul, Korea) has released a male voice, Sungho, as part of its VoiceText Korean Speech Synthesis Solution. The company is directing the product for use in news, weather and stock price reading applications. This is VoiceWare’s fourth TTS voice. It has two female and two male voices. The next voice update is expected soon, when the voice of Miss Choi, Jung Voon, a Korean television and movie actress, will be added to the voice database. Voiceware’s TTS is used to provide Korean language reading in Britannica CD 2000 for Multimedia. Contact: Christine Yin, Voiceware, www.voiceware.co.kr , 822.2188.5786.

 

NSC Development Kit 2.0: NSC-Natural Speech Communication Ltd. (Rishon Le-Zion, Israel) has introduced Version 2.0 of the NSCBoard Development Kit for its compact speech recognition engine. The NSCBoard (ASRNews March 1999) provides a scalable and cost-effective ASR solution for voice driven services of wireless, Internet, and wireline telephony infrastructure vendors and application developers. NSC’s Development Kit targets command-and-control for voice-driven services such as Voice Portals (including Web access), m-commerce, Unified Messaging and Voice Dialing. Using NSC’s compact ASR technology, application developers can build services providing up to 64 concurrent ASR channels in a single server. The NSCBoard Development Kit Version 2.0 is available immediately for voice-driven application developers and telephony infrastructure vendors. Contact: Rina Berkovsky, Natural Speech Communication Ltd., +972-54-723-879, rinab@nsc.co.il.

 

 

REPORTS & CONFERENCES

 

Kelsey Group Report on Voice Web: The Kelsey Group (Princeton, NJ) projects that worldwide spending and revenues from the Voice Web and voice applications will reach $41 billion by 2005, in a new 48-page forecast and its accompanying Voice Web Ecosystem map. According to the Voice Web study, a convergence of factors, including the Internet, advances in speech recognition technologies and the boom in wireless, has unleashed tremendous activity among a broad base of developers, enterprises and telecommunications carriers. This cross-industry activity is expected to drive $41 billion in expenditures for a range of speech-enabled applications, including today's online and touchtone formats. The new report is an update of a February 2000 study by The Kelsey Group. Key findings include:

 

AVIOS Highlights the Voice Web: The 20th Annual AVIOS Conference, being held April 2-4, 2001, in San Jose, CA, will focus on the Voice Web and current speech technology. AVIOS 2001 will showcase separate and converging opportunities in the desktop, mobile, consumer and telephony markets. Immediately following AVIOS 2001 will be The First Annual VoiceXML Forum Users Group Meeting, sponsored by the VoiceXML Forum, the group that created the evolving standard for developing telephone dialog-based applications. The first day of the Expo will be devoted to three tutorials. Dr. Nelson Morgan, executive director of the International Computer Science Institute at UC Berkeley, will present a session entitled Speech Recognition -- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Dr. Kim Silverman, principal research scientist in speech synthesis and manager of Spoken Language Systems at Apple Computer, will lay out the latest developments in Text-to-Speech Systems and Technology. The day will conclude with a tutorial entitled W3C Speech Interface Framework and Other Standards for Building Speech-enabled Web Applications presented by Jim Larson, manager, Advanced Human I/O at the Intel Architecture Labs and co-chairman of the W3C Voice Browser Working Group. Dr. David Nagel, president of AT&T Labs and chief technology officer of AT&T, will present the keynote address at the Tuesday luncheon. His subject will be The Coming Revolution in Voice Technologies. Contact: Peggy Johnson, AVIOS, (408) 323-1783, www.avios.com.

 

Expanded SpeechTEK: SpeechTEK 2001 will be held in New York City on October 25 and 26. The event has been expanded to include specific full-day tracks in the conference to include Freedom of Speech: Speech in Mobile Applications and Speech in Customer Service Applications. These two new, full-day tracks are in addition to the traditional Technical and Business track offerings. For session topics, see the SpeechTek Web site at www.speechtek.com. Contact: Gary Moyers, AMCOMM, (859) 278-7364, gary@amcommexpos.com.

 

 

INVESTMENTS

 

L&H Seeks to Sell Technology to Visteon: L&H (Burlington, MA/Ieper, Belgium) is seeking court approval to sell Dragon Systems-developed technology to Visteon Corporation, a former L&H partner in the automotive telematics industry. L&H is seeking approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to conclude the sale of L&H's C-REC and SDX technologies. The former technology is a speech recognition system developed by Dragon and customized for Visteon by Dragon under a 1997 services agreement. The sale calls for the exchange of $13.1 million in cash and other considerations. L&H hopes that the sale will aid the resolution of a court case filed against it by Visteon in October 2000 for breech of contract. Contact: Ron Schuermans, Lernout & Hauspie, +32-57-22-8888, ron.schuermans@lhs.be.

 

Nuance Lowers Quarterly Estimates: This month, Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) updated its financial guidance by lowering its estimate of revenue for the quarter ending March 31, 2001. Based upon its current outlook, Nuance estimates first quarter revenue will be in the range of $10 million to $12 million. The pro forma net loss, which excludes non-cash compensation expense and amortization of intangibles, is expected to be between $10 million and $12 million and the pro forma net loss per share is expected to be in the range of $0.31 to $0.38. This net loss is larger than previously anticipated, primarily because of the company's estimated lower revenue for the quarter. Nuance attributes the revenue shortfall primarily to general economic conditions, which have led customers and customer prospects to postpone capital investment in Nuance products and service offerings based on Nuance products. The company believes its visibility is limited for both the second quarter and full-year results. There will be a live web broadcast available at www.nuance.com. Nuance’s regularly scheduled first quarter results call will be held on April 19th, 2001. Contact: Matt Keowen, Nuance, (650) 847-0000.

 

SPWX Conference Call: SpeechWorks International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPWX), will conduct a conference call on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss results for the three months ended March 31, 2001. Investors and interested parties may listen to the call via a live Webcast accessible on the investor relations page of SpeechWorks’ Web site at www.speechworks.com. To listen, register and download audio software at the site at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. The Webcast will be archived on the site, while a telephone replay of the call will be available beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 24 through May 1 at 1-800-633-8284 or 858-812-6440 (international callers) using reservation #18354595.

 

Voxware Moves to OTC BB: Voxware, Inc. (Princeton, NJ) (OTC BB: VOXW) securities were delisted from the NASDAQ National Market effective with the close of business on February 28, 2001. The company’s securities were immediately be available for trading on the NASDAQ OTC Bulletin Board. The company received the notification at the close of market on February 28, 2001. Contact: Nicholas Narlis, Voxware, Inc., (609) 514.4100 x4111.

 

Webley to Buy EffectNet and BuzMe.com: Webley Systems Inc., (Washington, DC) a provider of speech-enabled Unified Communications and messaging services, announced plans to acquire and merge the operations of both EffectNet, Inc. (Phoenix, AZ), and BuzMe, Inc. (Palo Alto, CA) (ASRNews February 2000). Terms will not be disclosed. EffectNet, is a fast-growing e-Business Service Provider. Its services include Unified Communications and the customized management of content, such as e-mail hosting and e-commerce applications. BuzMe, provides a voice mail and Internet call waiting service (ICW) to homes and small business. That service uses L&H RealSpeak to play custom replies from the person on-line to their incoming caller. Contact: Hal Poel, Webley Systems Inc., (888) 444-6400.

 

IVoice.com Patent Application: iVoice.com, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: IVOC) has filed for additional patent protection for its Speech Enabled Name Dialer with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The new application protects the use of the Name Dialer when used in conjunction with an ordinary voice modem, installed in any PC computer. The Name Dialer is an automatic phone dialing system. The system imports the necessary contact information for dialing (names and phone numbers) from almost any PIM or contact manager, including, Microsoft Outlook, ACT, and Gold Mine. The imported names are then transcribed, through software, into a set of phonemes to be used for voice recognition. The user says the name of the person (whose name came from their contact list) and the Name Dialer places the call using a standard voice modem. The company’s original patent filing included the use of the Name Dialer software in conjunction with a PBX, and an attached server running the Name Dialer software which in turn places the call using voice cards. By using technology previously developed by iVoice and used in the company's Outdial Patient Reminder, iVoice is seeking to protect the use of the Name Dialer on a stand alone PC using a voice modem to place a call. iVoice has also filed patent applications for Voice Activated Voice Operated Copier, Voice Activated Voice Operational Universal Remote Control, and Voice Activated Voice Operated Voice Responsive Hear I Am Voice Locator Contact: Jerry Mahoney, iVoice.com, Inc., (877) iVoice0, investors@ivoice.com.

 

 

SHORT NOTES

 

Acer Picks ART: Acer, the world's number three PC manufacturer, has deployed two of ART's (Advanced Recognition Technologies, Inc.) (Atlanta, GA/Simi Valley, CA) voice and handwriting technologies on Acer’s new GSM smart phone, the Pro 80. The touchscreen-only smart phone has no keypad or buttons and is operated equally by ART’s smARTspeak speech recognition and simpliWrite natural handwriting recognition technology. smARTspeak is speaker-independent ASR and is now deployed in over 15 million cellular handsets, PDAs and handhelds worldwide. It is designed to support all cellular standards including CDMA, GSM, TDMA and others. Contact: Yakov Shulman, ART Ltd., +972-3-642-7242 ext. 113, yakov@artcomp.com.

 

iVoice.com Supports Dialogic HW: iVoice.com (OTC BB: IVOC ) (Matawan, NJ), announced support for continuous speech processing (CSP) technology and voice processing hardware from Dialogic, an Intel company. CSP provides the constant echo cancellation and speech detection necessary for iVoice to build complex speech recognition applications for the telephone. IVoice products include the iVoice Speech Enabled Auto Attendant, iVoiceMail and the iVoice Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRs). By using the Dialogic JCT series of CSP-enabled voice processing boards, iVoice eliminates the need for multiple smaller 4-port voice cards previously required to build scalable call center applications with barge-in capabilities. The Dialogic voice boards provide 12 or 24 ports of voice and speech processing, providing greater expandability and reliability, and enabling the barge-in feature at lower cost through a single-board solution. Contact: Jerry Mahoney, iVoice.com, (877) iVoice0, Investors@ivoice.com.

 

Fonix’ New VP: Fonix (Salt Lake City, UT) (OCTBB: FONX) has named Kirk Feller as Vice President of Marketing. Feller and his team will create specific and directed marketing programs and campaigns in the IVR - call center - voice portal markets, vehicle telematics, mobile computing devices including cell phones and PDAs, and consumer electronics devices similar to Panasonic's use of Fonix speech solutions. Contact: Scott Lindsey, Fonix Corp., (801) 553-6600, sales@fonix.com.

 

Ray’s Excellent Adventure: Ray Kurzweil has launched Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence Network (KurzweilAI.net), a Web showcase for the ideas of "visionaries and breakthrough Web technologies." The Web site, intended for the "educated lay public," is hosted by Ramona, a real-time virtual hostess, using natural language processing, real-time facial animation, and other technologies to answer visitors’ questions vocally. She's a "chatterbot" (conversational robot) that uses natural language processing to hold conversations with visitors and respond to typed questions with lip-synched speech and appropriate facial expressions. LifeFX (Newton, MA) (ASRNews February 2001), which provides the photo realistic avatar, is one of KurzweilAI.net Technology partners along with eGain (chatterbot conversational engine), and TheBrain Technologies (dynamic visual knowledge map). LifeFX uses IBM ViaVoice TTS engine. Contact: Celia Black-Brooks, Kurzweil AI Network, Inc., (410) 468-3066, celia@kurzweilai.net .

 

SPWX New Execs: SpeechWorks International (NASDAQ: SPWX) (Boston, MA) has added two executives to the international management team. Howard Gross joins SpeechWorks as vice president and managing director of International and is charged with building SpeechWorks’ customer and partner base in Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region. On the technical and operations side, David Macdonald assumes the position of vice president of International Operations in order to support the accelerated demand for SpeechWorks products and services overseas. Steve Adams, former vice president, International, has moved to the new executive position of vice president, International Partnerships in order to focus on supporting SpeechWorks’ global distribution channels and development partners. Contact: Leah Lesser, SpeechWorks International, Inc., (617) 428-4444, leah.lesser@speechworks.com .

 

ViaVoice Coming for OS X: With the introduction of Mac OS X this month, Apple Computer (Cupertino, CA) quoted Krishna Nathan, Director, Consumer Voice Systems, IBM Voice Systems. "Last year, IBM delivered the first continuous speech recognition program for the Macintosh. IBM's current plan is to deliver IBM ViaVoice for the new Mac OS X platform in US English later this year, and is evaluating European and Japanese IBM ViaVoice solutions for the new operating system."

 

Yankee Group Launches New Practice: The Yankee Group (Boston, MA) has launched a Mobile Commerce Strategies Research and Consulting Practice. The new research and consulting practice is dedicated to the coverage of retail, banking, and brokerage transactions through mobile devices. Adam Zawel, program manager of Mobile Commerce Strategies, explained, "This research and consulting practice is designed to meet the growing demand for comprehensive, practical guidance concerning the growth of mobile commerce. Initial Reports published by the planning service will map out the payment flows involved in mobile financial and commercial transactions, explore the intersection of speech recognition and mobile commerce, and examine the relevant security and privacy issues." Contact: Hanna Roach, (617) 880-0360, hroach@yankeegroup.com.

 

 

CALENDAR

 

 

CT Expo Spring, Los Angeles, CA …………………………………………….……………………………………….March 6-8, 2001

www.cmpevents.com.

 

Technology & Persons with Disabilities, Los Angeles, CA……………………………………………………….March 19-24, 2001

California State University, Northridge, (818) 677-2578, ctrdis@csun.edu

 

CTIA Wireless 2001, Las Vegas, NV ………………………………………………………………………………….March 20-22, 2001

CTIA, (301) 694-5243, http://ebooth.onewirelessmarket.com/Content/registration/registerf.htm

 

Applied Speech 2001, Ghent, Belgium……………………………………………………………..…………………..May 16-17, 2001

Flanders Expo, +32 (0) 475/23 68 22, appliedspeech@flandersexpo.be