SpeechTrans Releases SpeechOne API

SpeechTrans, a provider of advanced translation technology, has launched SpeechOne API, a patent-pending application programming interface that will allow people to verbally communicate with digital devices that don't have microphones.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has already begun pilot testing the SpeechOne API, with plans to add its functionality to the virtual meeting application HP MyRoom. Available for white labeling, the new API is also featured in Remote Mic, a feature new to SpeechTrans Ultimate for Windows 8.1.

SpeechOne API enables voice recognition, transcription, and translation on any device, in real time. The API can handle conversations of any length in 44 languages. The API can recognize voice commands via smartphone or other device with a microphone and then transfer information to other digital devices via the cloud. Potentially, this will allow companies to develop'smart homes in which a smartphone or tablet can control lighting, ovens, microwaves, air conditioners, and other appliances, all by voice command.

"The API technology actually comes from SpeechTrans Ultimate for Hearing Impaired, which allows the hearing impaired to make phone calls without assistance from a human operator," said Yan Auerbach, chief operations officer at SpeechTrans, in a statement.. "In conversation with our partners at Microsoft, we realized the base technology could be used for an extraordinary range of applications as an API. Now, our partners are discovering uses for it that we never considered. The most advanced applications could transform the way we interact with everything from cars, airplanes and industrial equipment to home appliances, vending machines and much more."

SpeechTrans Ultimate Windows 8.1 users can now activate a new Remote Mic feature that relies on SpeechOne API. While SpeechTrans normally limits translations to 55 seconds in length, the SpeechOne API enables any regular telephone to be used as a remote microphone to record, transcribe, and translate conversations of any length. All dictations and translations are automatically backed up in the cloud for safekeeping.

SpeechTrans IntelliConference bridge allows the SpeechOne API to set up conference calls with up to 500 people. A single person can enter everyone's number and send an outgoing call that lets everyone join the bridge simultaneously. The conference then automatically gets transcribed and emailed to all the participants.

The SpeechOne API has now undergone testing at HP. The company already uses a SpeechTrans API to power translations on MyRoom, a virtual meeting application. The current version requires a microphone plugged into a computer, but a version with SpeechOne API would simply require a smartphone or tablet. The recording would then be saved in the cloud and available from any device.

The SpeechOne API is optimized for use with the SpeechTrans Bluetooth Wristband Watch, which is designed for hands-free conversation and dictation.

Currently, Remote Mic is available for $39 per month on SpeechTrans Ultimate for Windows 8.1. iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8 editions of SpeechTrans will soon include this feature.