A platform that makes creating intelligent systems capable of understanding context, semantic and natural conversational language easier has been launched by voice recognition specialist Nuance.
Nuance Mix has been designed with digital designers, programmers, hardware and software developers in mind. It provides them with the ability to create customised voice and natural language interfaces quickly and easily.
These interfaces are powering the next generation of Internet of Things (IoT), including the areas of smart home, gaming, robotics and consumer health.
Nuance Mix gives developers access to tools such as voice recognition and text-to-speech. These can be used for developing custom voice and natural language models within just a few minutes.
The main USP here is that the platform lets developers define use cases, concepts, parameters and the ways in which consumers use their devices through voice. Customised and intelligent speech modules can then be developed.
What’s more, it comes with support for a variety of operating systems and platforms through open internet protocols such as WebSockets. There are also SDKs for iOS and Android, as well as for languages like Python, C, and JavaScript.
The platform is available through the company’s developer programme, which has worked with major companies such as Samsung and BMW. It’s helped them develop intelligent assistants.
Nuance Mix will be expanding its tools and capabilities throughout 2016.
Mike Thompson, executive vice president and general manager at Nuance Mobile, said: “The rapidly evolving ecosystem of specialized devices and services for the IoT and Industrial Internet will be defined by the user experience – and the stakes are high in bringing these innovations into an incredibly competitive market.
“Nuance Mix gives developers and device makers the ability to quickly integrate Nuance’s trusted voice and natural language technology in just a few hours – and with the control and flexibility to make their experience unique and exceptional.”
Phil Murphy, co-founder of tech start-up Senta and a software engineer by trade, told Internet of Business: “Right now, we software engineers are busy (re)designing interfaces for devices with small screens. When something like Nuance Mix could be really interesting is when we move to devices with no screens at all.”