Amazon is seeking to get its Alexa virtual assistant into more third party devices with the announcement that it has now opened up the SDK for its Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit. The development platform was first announced near the start of the year, when it was available for select headphone devices from Bose, Jabra, and…
Silicon Valley-based noHold has now launched its own voice-based virtual assistant on its SICURA platform. Called SICURA Voice, the solution is able to respond to multiple different users and is designed to offer natural speech recognition. It supports 13 languages, and is aimed at the enterprise sector, allowing client companies to create their own custom…
Customers of Alabama’s Bank Independent can now access their banking services via an AI-driven virtual assistant based on Amazon’s Alexa platform. That includes checking their account balances, performing transactions, and receiving information about loans, bank hours, and more; and the system can even perform biometric authentication using voice recognition. The technology arrives via Enacomm’s VPA,…
Nuance Communications is joining forces with Korean telecom KT to develop a new automotive AI system to the Korean market. The solution will combine both companies’ artificial intelligence technologies. Nuance is already well-known for its Dragon Drive platform, which supports speech and voice recognition in vehicular applications; and the company has also expanded on this…
“…BMW Group emphasized its artificial intelligence, asserting that it can learn the driver’s habits, allowing it to offer directions based on a command like, ‘Take me home.’” BMW cars will get their own virtual assistant early next year, dubbed the “BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.” The system will allow drivers to adjust various in-car settings on…
The Google Assistant is now bilingual, and is on its way to a lot more smart devices. The voice-controlled AI assistant’s bilingualism represents an industry first. All the major virtual assistants, including Google Assistant, already supported multiple languages; but this is the first time that such a platform is able to fluently switch between two…
A Shanghai-based AI firm has launched an autonomous electric bus that features biometric authentication and a conversational AI system. Called the Smart Panda Bus, the solution was developed by DeepBlue Technology, a firm that has thus far demonstrated its AI prowess with smart vending machines and retail solutions. The bus of course features computer vision…
“Adding far-field voice recognition to our TV lineup provides consumers with a more natural and convenient viewing experience.” -Bryan Huang, Product Center Director, TCL Synaptics‘ far-field voice technology is now being used in new smart TV’s to support their use of Alexa, Amazon’s voice-based AI assistant. The TVs are made by TCL, a China-based electronics…
Further evidence has emerged that Facebook is indeed working on its own smart speaker system, as well as an AI assistant to operate it. The latest, and perhaps biggest, clue comes by way of code found in the Facebook and Messenger Android app by mobile researcher Jane Manchun Wong. The code enables a rudimentary speech…
Google appears to be working on a new facial recognition system for its mobile devices, according to a new XDA-Developers report. It’s mostly conjecture, but it’s based on pretty solid footing. Essentially, XDA-Developers has been digging around in code for Google Assistant, Google’s AI-driven virtual helper, and found snippets suggesting that a mysterious feature codenamed…
SK Telecom is bringing its AI assistant technology to a hotel in Seoul. The Korean telecom says its Nugu virtual assistant will be deployed at the Grand Walkerhill hotel, allowing hotel guests to perform actions like adjusting lighting and temperature via voice command. The system will initially be installed in 44 rooms, and SK Telecom says…
“Smart cars may be one increasingly important avenue going forward, with Baidu having established partnerships with major brands including BMW, Daimler, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, and others to integrate its conversational AI platform into their vehicles.” Baidu has hit a major milestone for its DuerOS voice-based AI platform: The company has announced that it’s now being…
