Wavelink Releases Terminal Emulation 7.0 For Retail Companies

SALT LAKE CITY – With a vast inventoryand sometimes intricate array of orders, warehouses still face problems ofaccuracy, regardless of more advanced data collection methods. Companies like Vocollect and Voxware have attempted improving accuracy in warehouses by introducing voice-driven technologies in the use of packaging orders and distributing tasks among workers. Running on the success of speech technology in the retail space, mobile infrastructure management software company Wavelink introduced its Terminal Emulation 7.0 with Wavelink SpeakEasy software yesterday.

The application, which has a patent pending, is the first voice solution for terminal emulation that resides entirely on the handheld device. Jay Cichosz, a senior product manager at Wavelink says the product represents the next step in voice-driven applications for the retail segement.

"The strategy for companies over the years has been to develop hardware and software solutions,"Cichosz says. "You buy a special device that doesn’t have a screen or keyboard,works entirely through voice on a headset, then write anew application that interacts with a server, and with the mainframe system."

This method, hesays, has its downsides: it’s expensive, takes approximately 12 to 18 months to produce ROI, and requires customization and interaction with a server. Wavelink’s new product, which uses a Nuance speech engine, helps users avoid interacting with the server because all scripts are kept on the handheld device.

"There’s no server-side element to work on," Cichosz states. "You write ascript one time and wirelessly send it out to all mobile devices. You don’t even need to put your hands on the mobile device because you connect to it wirelessly."

The product alsos upports multiple data input formats, such as voice and barcode scans, something its competitors cannot do. In addition, Wavelink’s product slashes the cost of previous applications by a third, and, the company claims Terminal Emulation 7.0 allows much greater ease of implementation.

Though it appears obvious that Wavelink’s product will spur competition with companies like Vocollect and Voxware, Cichosz claims Wavelink is "not trying to take over the whole voice world." Because, he claims, Wavelink’s application is specifically for terminal emulation applications, he doesn’t see the two companies as competing across the board.

He does, however, acknowledge that Wavelink’s newest offering represents a natural evolution within the voice sector of the retail market.

"Vocollect has gone out there and proven the value of voice in this market," Cichosz says."We’re hopefully able to take advantage of that obvious need by offering something that costs less money and is easier to use."