Vivoka Launches Embedded NLU

Vivoka today introduced natural language understanding (NLU) technology that can run in an embedded voice assistant.

The technology also allows voice assistants to understand any vocal command as long as the user's intention is clear. The voice assistant focuses on the intention and not on the words in particular. The machine, which learns from examples, will refine its understanding as it goes along.

"The current boundaries of embedded voice assistants lie in their limited ability to understand complex sentences. The NLU we are working on will enable tomorrow's assistants to not only perform as well as those available in the cloud, but also limit energy impact and protect our customers' data," said William Simonin, Vivoka's co-founder and CEO, in a statement.

With everything running offline in an embedded format, the voice assistants can be used without an internet connection.

"It was time to bring to the industry and to consumer electronic devices the possibility to control their interfaces by voice, without having to make them dependent on the internet, for a secure and operational use instantly. Well, it's done with our voice development software kit," said Emmanuel Chaligne, chief product officer of Vivoka, in a statement.