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Nao robot to become even more of a chatterbox with new software (video)
You may remember Nao, a charming humanoid robot, for its exploits on the soccer field, dance floor, or even for its love of amateur dramatics. While Nao has enjoyed chatting with us humans since its maker Aldebaran Robotics added Nuance's speech recognition wizardry in 2011, the pair have today reaffirmed their desire to turn the droid into a true conversationalist. Upgraded cloud-based tech from Nuance will apparently "allow people to have truly natural conversations with the robot" in 19 different languages when the new models become available early next year. Furthermore, Nao has a fresh, distinct voice intended to better represent its "personality" -- one that's programmed never to tire of your trivial discussions. A demo of these new features can be seen below, although Nao mostly lets folks from Nuance and Aldebaran take the floor to talk of the partnership and the future of robot interaction. Not before it busts out some new moves, however.
How Siri gained its voice
The Verge has a terrific article about voice synthesis and speech recognition that gives some interesting insights into how Siri and other digital voice assistants work. Although not officially acknowledged by Apple, Siri is based on technology from Nuance, the folks behind Dragon Dictate for Mac. Nuance also offers the free Dragon Dictation and Dragon Go! for iOS. Nuance licenses speech-recognition and voice-synthesis technology to many software companies, and has made some dramatic breakthroughs that are being used extensively in the medical field. While Siri's voice isn't quite as good as the Hal 9000 in the movie 2001, it is getting close. In iOS 7, you can choose to have a male or female voice, and Apple has added more languages. Most voice synthesis starts with a human reading sounds, which are then taken in by a computer. It's not a matter of reading every possible word, but having a catalog of sounds, called phonemes that can be used to construct new words. If you used one of the Dragon Dictation products, you see the process in reverse. You read a story into the computer composed of various words, but the computer is not just learning the words, but key parts of speech that can be used to understand words not in the story. It's complex, and requires intensive processing. With a product like Dragon Dictate, your computer does the processing. With Siri and other smartphone assistants, like Google Search, the computing is done not on your device, but on powerful servers in the cloud. To keep speech from sounding robotic, computer voices now have inflection, rising at the end of sentences where appropriate, but following a set of rules so the style and tone of speech match the context. It isn't perfect, but Siri sounds a lot better than the computer voices of 10 years ago, and Siri does sound more natural in iOS 7. The next few years are likely to show even more progress. Better recognition, more realistic voices and faster processing will be rapidly coming. I find Siri a bit half-baked at times, with server time-outs or bafflingly inaccurate recognition. Still, a feature like Siri was unthinkable on a phone just a few short years ago, and the best is yet to come.
Dragon Mobile Assistant 4 for Android adds driving mode, voice notifications
For Nuance, it's not enough that Dragon Mobile Assistant spares Android users from pecking at the keyboard -- with the app's new 4.0 upgrade, those users can sometimes avoid contact altogether. Dragon Mobile Assistant can now detect when you're in a moving car and automatically invoke a Driver Mode that relies solely on voice recognition and feedback, keeping your focus on the road. Accordingly, the upgrade builds in spoken notifications for inbound calls, messages, upcoming meetings and Facebook updates. There's also voice-aware email and customizable wake up commands. All told, 4.0 is a big boost for Android fans who see touchscreens as old hat; if you do, you can grab the update shortly (if not already) through Google Play.
Daily Update for May 31, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Nuance a "fundamental provider" to Siri
Rumors have long suggested Apple is working with Nuance on the voice recognition technology that powers Siri, but neither company has confirmed this partnership until now. Speaking during AllThingsD's D11 conference, Nuance CEO Paul Ricci officially confirmed that his company is a "fundamental provider" for Siri. Ricci didn't provide any details on what it means to be a "fundamental provider," but at least we now know for certain that the two companies are collaborating on Siri. You can listen to Ricci's entire interview on AllThingsD's website.
Nuance Dragon Notes brings quick, spoken memos and messages to Windows 8
Sometimes, the smallest and simplest apps make the most sense. Take Nuance's new Dragon Notes for Windows 8, for example. Unlike its NaturallySpeaking cousin, it's not a universal tool: instead, it's narrowly focused on the voice dictation of memos, email, social networking updates and web searches. That limited scope leads to a very simple interface, however, and slims down the price from $100 to a far more accessible $20. Fans of minimalism can grab Dragon Notes directly from Nuance on May 15th, although they'll need to spend $10 for every language they speak beyond English.
Swype 1.5 drops the beta tag, hits Google Play for 99 cents
We joke that Gmail holds the record for the most drawn-out test phase, but Swype comes close: the keyboard replacement has been considered a work in progress on various platforms since before Android devices hit the streets, and well after it started shipping with phones. The developers at Nuance are a little braver as of today, as they're launching Swype 1.5 for Android without any kind of beta label attached -- they really, truly consider it done. Mind you, there won't be a huge difference versus recent betas. The 1.5 update adds a quick shortcut to Dragon Mobile Assistant for those who have it installed, expands Living Language to 20 dialects, adds two new themes and refines both Smart Touch and Smart Reselect. It's where you can get Swype 1.5 that may be the biggest change. For the first time, Swype is launching as a straightforward Google Play download that should support the same easy installs and upgrades as most Android releases. Unfortunately, that also means a price tag for the store edition. Nuance is charging 99 cents on Google Play for a "limited time" before a price increase, so we'll have to shell out if we want to take the easier path. The beta program remains intact, however -- and when Swype is at least temporarily undercutting SwiftKey on pricing, we'd consider spending some cash.
DirecTV prepping voice search app for this summer
Help is on the way. DirecTV has been demoing a new app, due out in beta this summer, that will let you search using voice for your desired programs or movies. You can use an actor's name, a show title or just about anything that would identify a program. DirecTV has partnered with Nuance, the company behind Siri from Apple, for the voice recognition so the app is likely to work at least as well as Siri at recognizing your input. It's welcome news if you are suffering "death by typing" using the DirecTV remote, or even the current DTV iOS app. As we all know, Siri isn't perfect, but it is probably the best of breed in voice recognition. At any rate, saying things like "Show me Columbo episodes this weekend" or "Find some Bruce Willis movies" should work fine. The app works while you are away from home to set up items to record, and of course works from your comfy chair in front of the TV as well. When you are home, the search results will show up on your screen. DirecTV says the app will be in a "very wide beta" this summer with a final version coming later. Now if only Apple could only do something similar for the AppleTV... Even with the Apple Remote app, finding things to watch can be a pain. [via Engadget]
Amazon has reportedly acquired Evi for voice-guided search
Amazon isn't shy about wanting to own as much of the Kindle Fire's software experience as it can, which creates a challenge when implementing voice search -- the company can't just re-skin Google Now and call it a day. The next-quickest alternative is to buy a company wholesale, and TechCrunch has evidence that Amazon may have gone that route through a very stealthy acquisition of Evi, best known for its eponymous personal assistant app. While neither side has publicly commented on the deal, our colleagues have noticed that all of Evi's directors and its company secretary have been replaced by staffers linked to Amazon UK. If it's not an acquisition, there's been at least some loss of autonomy. We don't know exactly what Amazon would be doing should the acquisition prove real, although Evi's Nuance-powered voice assistance for Android and iOS may be enough of a clue in itself -- there's only so many places Amazon can go with such a narrowly focused company.
Panasonic 2013 Smart TVs wield Nuance Dragon TV for voice control, text-to-speech
Panasonic and Nuance have been close partners on TV voice recognition in the past; we now know that they're getting a bit cozier for Panasonic's 2013 Smart TVs. The company's newer LCDs and plasmas with voice recognition use Nuance's Dragon TV for voice-only control of basics like volume as well as content and web searches. The engine will also speak out content and menus if you need more than just visual confirmation of where you're going. Panasonic's refreshed TV line is gradually rolling out over the spring, so those who see a plastic remote control as so very 2010 won't have long to wait.
Dragon Mobile Assistant 3.0 can share locations, call meeting numbers for you
Nuance has long wanted Dragon Mobile Assistant to do as much of the heavy lifting as possible for common Android phone tasks. The newly available 3.0 beta is shouldering even more of the load, including responsibilities that can still involve separate apps with rivals. It's now possible to share map coordinates, or ask for someone else's location, through simple requests. The refresh will also skip the drudgery needed to dial a conference call or an important friend: set a calendar event with phone numbers and passcodes attached and Dragon can punch in the numbers itself, right on cue. As a final touch, the upgrade brings truly hands-free text messaging that includes both spoken incoming messages and voice-dictated replies. The beta remains free and will work with Android 2.3 or above; if Google Now and S Voice aren't pulling enough weight, there might be some relief through the source link.
Nuance Wintermute hands-on: a cross-platform, cloud-based personal assistant
It's becoming increasingly clear that the next wave of mobile computing is going to be voice driven. Mobile assistants like Siri and Google Now are garnering plenty of media attention and earning legions of fans. Nuance, the company behind Dragon -- often cited as the gold standard in voice recognition software -- wants to make sure it doesn't get left behind after pioneering the art of speaking to your computer. Dragon Mobile Assistant was the first step towards that goal, but it stuck primarily to searches and a few simple tasks. After leaving our stage here at CES, the company was nice enough to take us back to a suite where it demoed a project codenamed Wintermute. Besides throwing a bone to William Gibson fans, the project aims to make Nuance's personal assistant truly personal and platform agnostic by building a profile of individual users in the cloud. While clearly very much in the early stages, what we saw was none the less impressive. The mobile app, was able to easily recognize queries such as "what is the score of the Celtics game" and obey commands like "play music by the Rolling Stones." Nuance even threw in a bit of snide, Siri-like personality -- the assistant quipped about the rep being too young to listen to the Stones. That response was obviously triggered by the fact that the app knew Sean Brown, a senior manager at the company, was born well after the band's hey day.
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Nuance's Vlad Sejnoha (update: video embedded)
We'll be talking about the potential of voice recognition with Nuance, the company behind the popular Dragon NaturallySpeaking and features in hardware like Samsung's Smart TVs. The company's CTO Vlad Sejnoha will be joining us on the stage. January 9, 2013 7:30 PM EST Check out our full CES 2013 stage schedule here! Update: video embedded
Nuance's Project Wintermute targets Siri and Google Now with cross-platform virtual assistant
Nuance is working, not so quietly it turns out, on a challenger to Siri and Google Now. Codenamed Project Wintermute, the voice recognition pioneer's latest effort focuses on building a cross-platform, cloud-based virtual assistant. Nuance VP Matt Revis told The Next Web, that the company "want[s] to be completely platform agnostic." Rather than locking people into Android or iOS, it wants people to be able to tap into Wintermute from any computer, handset or tablet. Even TVs are being targeted -- in one demo a Nuance rep asked a television to "put the game on" and it tuned into to the Notre Dame game. It automatically made an educated guess about which "game" the rep wanted to watch. The cloud-based nature makes it easier for Wintermute to be ported from platform to platform, but it will pose an obstacle since a strong data connection will be necessary and there will be some inherent lag between speaking commands and receiving a reply. Some of the details have yet to be sussed out, but perhaps Nuance CTO Vlad Sejnoha will have some more detail for us when he swings by our CES stage this afternoon.
Nuance and ZTE annouce multi-year collaboration on voice-enabled Android devices
ZTE and Nuance have entered into another multi-year deal for voice activated services on ZTE devices. This time around, though, we'll see a larger focus on in-car services using ZTE's yet to be released Car Mode app -- which will be available in more than 25 languages at launch. Like most in-car setups the focus is of course remaining safe while driving but not giving up the interaction with the services on your mobile you've come to love. Using Nuance's stellar voice to text magic drivers will have access to text messages, calling features and music control without the need for a data connection. Car mode is activated with a wake-up word at which point you'll be assailed with a soft spoken barrage of information from your set without requiring eyes or fingers-on to get tasks done. Users can quickly interrupt any current command or incoming audio as well as put the system in a "do not disturb" mode if you just need a little peace til you arrive at your destination. Car Mode will come pre-installed on ZTE sets shipping this year. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
New Swype beta adds 'Living Language,' uses crowd-sourcing to predict your texts
The Swype keyboard has already evolved several times since it debuted a few years ago, adding Dragon Dictation for voice texts and later introducing personalized dictionaries and culturally relevant "hotwords." The latest update to the the beta introduces Swype Living Language, which is meant to further personalize your keyboard by analyzing your texts and providing predictions based on your most-used words -- provided you opt in, of course. There's also an editing feature that flags potentially incorrect words and suggests likely alternatives (think "ged morning" vs. "good morning"). In addition to making texts more accurate, the goal is to track trending words, not just globally but also based on location -- you know the word "CES" is gonna blow up in Vegas this week, for instance. That information will make for some interesting statistics in the future, but for now you can download the Swype beta for Android via the source link and see how accurate the feature is for you.
Dragon Mobile Assistant beta for Android updated, lets your voice launch apps and music
Nuance has refreshed its Dragon Mobile Assistant for Android to let you do more stuff using speech alone. The beta app now allows you to set alarms, launch apps and play music, in addition to its existing hands-free prowess that covers making calls, getting directions, updating your Twitter status and waking up your device from slumber using a "Hi Dragon" greeting. The voice-driven personal assistant, which hitherto worked only on ICS and up, also now supports devices running Android 2.3. (And no, you can't customize your phone's nickname. It has to be Dragon, not Snuffy.)
2014 Ford Fiesta gets MyFord Touch, smarter Sync voice commands
For all of Ford's emphasis on Sync, it's hard to deny that Fiesta drivers usually sit on the bottom rung of the automaker's technology ladder when they're denied MyFord Touch and the related perks of larger vehicles. Pick up the keys to a higher-spec 2014 Fiesta, however, and you'll be in for a treat. The compact will stuff a 6.5-inch touchscreen and MyFord Touch into the center stack, with a few software upgrades over what we've already seen in cars like the Focus and Fusion. The highlight is undoubtedly the more direct voice command system -- the Nuance-driven recognition no longer demands that we specify music categories or radio formats to start playing tunes. Bluetooth smartphone pairing and navigation by address should be streamlined at the same time. Motorists will have to wait until 2013 to reap the rewards, but it could be worth the wait to drive away with Ford's better electronics in an affordable ride.
Nuance Dragon Mobile Assistant launches on Android, but only on ICS for now
Dragon Go! has been given the elbow, with the slightly more professional sounding Dragon Mobile Assistant taking its place. Nuance has expanded on its predecessor's verbal commands, with new functionality for maps (you'll be able to bark direction requests at the new app and it'll plan the route), alongside a hands-free wake-up feature activated by saying "Hi Dragon" -- we hope you have a high embarrassment threshold. Other Siri-esque features include weather updates and dictated SMS and email responses. The beta app can be downloaded below, although compatibility is limited to Android Ice Cream Sandwich and above for now. Nuance is promising more features and increased availability later this year.
Review: Dragon Dictate 3 for Mac delivers reliable dictation
I was anxious to test the updated Dragon Dictate, now at version 3, as I had been a steady user of the Dragon products over the years and watched them improve. The new version offers performance boosts for legacy users, along with some attractive new features that might entice customers. Dragon Dictate (formerly MacSpeech Dictate) is a Mac application that turns your spoken words into text, in real time. You can dictate into just about any program that allows text entry, like Pages, Word, Mail or even Safari. You speak commands for formatting, like "new line" or "new paragraph" or "tab key" and your cursor will move. You can also issue more complex commands, like "search Google for NASA." With email you can say "new message" and a message will be prepared. Tab down, by voice command, and fill in a name, subject, then start dictating. Then say "Send Message" and off it goes. You can even say "Send a message to XXX XXXXX" and that works too. As my install was an upgrade from version 2.5, I wondered if my old voice training files would work. They didn't; I had to read about a 10-minute story so Dragon Dictate could learn my voice, and match it to the microphone I use. Although the software comes with a headset mic, I hate wearing them. Instead I use an excellent Blue USB desk mic, which works perfectly, even though I am about eight inches away from it. Dragon claims the speech recognition is faster in v3, and it seems to be, but it's not a dramatic difference. As you dictate, your words appear on screen just a couple of seconds after you say them. One thing that is definitely improved is accuracy. Although I was always impressed with the program's ability to understand words I did not expect it to get right, accuracy has been improved. I'm doing a lot fewer edits of spoken text, although that can be done by voice too. You don't need to use your mouse. This latest version also supports wideband Bluetooth, so if you have a supported wireless headset, you're going to get good quality and recognition that way. The help files are excellent. It's easy to find a command if you get stuck, and there are interactive tutorials as well. One of the newest and most intriguing features of Dragon Dictate 3 is the ability to transcribe an audio file. I was quite skeptical that this would work, so I tried an old MP3 file that was an interview I did for a book I wrote. At the time, I had to pay someone to transcribe all my interviews and it wasn't cheap. It turns out Dragon doesn't want MP3 files, but does support AIFF, MP4 and WAV, so I converted the MP3 file in iTunes to WAV. You select transcription from the Dragon menu and point to the file. The software takes in about 20 seconds of audio and shows you the results. You can confirm the text or make corrections. The transcript was really quite solid, just needing some formatting for paragraphs and fixing a few misinterpreted words. That was very surprising. I recorded the interview with the subject several feet away from my digital recorder. It really is an astounding result, and if I had this software back when I was writing the book it would have saved me hundreds of dollars in transcription fees. Another clever feature is that you can use the free Dragon Recorder app for iOS in the field, then send those files from your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch to your Mac where Dragon Dictate will obligingly transcribe them for you. If you want to use your iPhone as a live mic, the Dragon Microphone app (free) will do that for you. Dragon Dictate 3 is a solid and impressive update. In fact, I used it to dictate this review. It sells for US$174.99, which is an introductory special. If you have Dragon Dictate 2.5 it is a $149.99 upgrade. Current owners have been offered a lower price of $99.00 by email. You'll need an Intel based Mac, with 4 GB of disk space, 2 GB of RAM and an internet connection to register the software. Dragon Dictate comes from Nuance, which seems to pretty much own the speech recognition business. Apple's Siri is based on it, as is the new dictation feature built into Mountain Lion. Of course, those services require an internet connection, and simply don't have the depth of features and power that dedicated software has. If you haven't tried dictation and computer voice control, Dragon Dictate is an excellent, reliable solution. No dictation technology is perfect, and you still will have to make some corrections, but Dragon Dictate 3 is certainly the state of the art. I think the new features and recognition improvements make it a worthwhile upgrade. I've seen scattered reports that version 2.5 does not work too well in Mountain Lion, so upgrading may be mandatory for users in that situation. You can see some of the various functions and set-up screens in the gallery below. %Gallery-167033%
