Speech Technology eWeekly - May 30, 2018

Case Studies

Bluegreen Vacations: Using Speech Analytics to Improve Customer Experience

When its customer service call volume had unexplained spikes, the resort vendor turned to CallMiner for answers.

Editor's Letter

Will Smart Speakers Have Staying Power?

A good user experience is integral to success. But smart speakers also need to be useful.

Speech Technology News

CallMiner Announces Eureka Coach to Provide Contact Center Optimization

CallMiner, a platform provider of speech and customer engagement analytics, announced the latest release of its agent performance management platform, now branded Eureka Coach.

Nuance Data Breach Includes 895 Patients in San Francisco Area

According to a press release from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, 895 patients had their information accessed, including "personal data such as name, date of birth, medical record number, patient number, and information dictated by the provider such as patient condition, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, care plan and date of service."

Semantic Machines Acquired by Microsoft

Microsoft has acquired Semantic Machines, a bold move toward bolstering its conversation AI capabilities.

New Version of VoCAS Extends the Possibilities for the Evaluation of Voice Control Systems

HEAD acoustics has launched a new version of VoCAS (Voice Control Analysis System), the software for evaluating voice control systems.

Sensory Adds Suite of New Biometric Voice Features to TrulySecure Speaker Verification

Sensory, a Silicon Valley-based company focused on improving the user experience and security of consumer electronics through embedded AI technologies, announced the next-generation of its low-resource, noise-robust, TrulySecure Speaker Verification (TSSV) SDK. TSSV 2.0 boasts a variety of new embedded voice biometric authentication features and accuracy improvements.

Hoya Text-to-Speech Engines Gets Top Accuracy Marks

ReadSpeaker--a HOYA Speech company--announced that the two Hoya Speech text-to-speech (TTS) engines, rSpeak and Neospeech (which uses Hoya Speech's VoiceText TTS engine), topped the 2018 Voice Information Associates Text-to-Speech Accuracy Testing charts.

Industry Voices

Video: 2018's Biggest Speech Technology Trends

In an industry that is changing so rapidly, it's hard to pinpoint the trends that really matter. So we turned to the experts at SpeechTEK 2018, and asked Michael McTear, Allyson Boudousquie, Debra Cancro, and Crispin Reedy what trends caught their eye this year.

Memes and Phonemes: “Yanny or Laurel?” Shows Why Accurate Speech Recognition Isn’t Easy

Yanny or Laurel? By now you've surely heard the audio clip that incited a viral debate (if not, check it out). It's a high-profile example of an interesting phenomenon—different people can listen to the same thing, at the same time, and hear completely different things. Understanding why it occurs—and how the speech recognition systems that drive customer engagement solutions like IVRs, mobile apps, and virtual assistants can accommodate those differences—helps ensure that brands are providing a frustration-free customer experience.

Market Spotlights

Market Spotlight: Travel and Hospitality

Transforming the travel experience through voice