InfoTalk and Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore to Jointly Establish Speech Technology Laboratory

SINGAPORE and HONG KONG - InfoTalk Corporation, a provider of multi-lingual conversational speech understanding technology, and Temasek Polytechnic, one of Singapore's providers of para-professional education, signed a memorandum of understanding that both parties will jointly develop a speech technology laboratory in Temasek Polytechnic. The partnership continues InfoTalk's commitment as a partner of the Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme (iLIUP), in which the laboratory is founded to propagate the innovative use of speech technology by providing training to the students and developing new and applicable speech projects. Under the collaboration, InfoTalk will partner with Temasek Polytechnic in the establishment of speech technology capabilities in the Temasek Information Technology School. The speech technology laboratory continues Temasek Polytechnic's commitment to the teaching of technologies that will impact the future of Infocomm Technology in Singapore, and will involve five Temasek Polytechnic staff in the initiative. Currently equipped with human computer interaction facilities, the laboratory will be fully integrated with InfoTalk's technology and consultancy, providing Temasek Polytechnic staff and students with opportunities in the design and development of speech applications for various IT domains. In addition to partnering Temasek Polytechnic in the creation of a high-tech education hub for the proliferation of speech industry development, InfoTalk will also develop new Asian languages for speech recognition with assistance from Temasek Polytechnic, aiming to extend the reach of speech technology applications to more Asian countries. According to Cahners In-Stat Group, speech technology is poised to enter every walk of life as new applications are developed and prices drop. In the comprehensive speech recognition market report, the high-tech market research firm finds that in 2005, sales of speech recognition software engines alone, the basis for all speech recognition products, will reach $2.7 billion. "Temasek Information Technology School is committed to the teaching of technologies that will impact the future of Infocomm Technology in Singapore," said Mr. Tan Dek Yam, Director of Temasek Information Technology School, Temasek Polytechnic. "Key technology companies such as InfoTalk make an ideal partner in the establishment of such development initiatives. We recognise the potential for speech technology to radically change the way we interact with computer-based business and environmental systems. Our state-of-the-art human computer interaction and research laboratories in the Temasek Information Technology School are well suited in this area. Temasek Polytechnic is thus very happy to partner InfoTalk in the development of leading edge applications in the dynamic and exciting field of speech technology," Mr. Tan added. "As one of the partners of the iLIUP initiative, InfoTalk is committed to promoting speech technology through both the business and academic partners," said Dr. Li Hai-zhou, Vice President of Research and Development at InfoTalk. "Working with recognized academic institutes like Temasek Polytechnic accomplishes our goal in proliferating the wide adoption of speech technology." Initiated by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, the iLIUP is an industry development program that fosters strategic partnerships between Singapore infocomm enterprises and multinational corporations (MNCs). Up to now, InfoTalk has signed up nine iLIUP partners: BITwave Pte Ltd, Bluengine Holdings Pte Ltd, Cicada Cube Pte Ltd, Earth9.com Pte Ltd, Expedire Pte Ltd, I-Contact Solutions Pte Ltd, In-One Technology Pte Ltd, JustLogin Pte Ltd and Keppel Communications Pte Ltd.