Hasta La Gadget!

Nuance has pushed out a new version of Dragon Dictate for Mac, its OS X voice dictation package, taking on Apple’s own Mountain Lion speech recognition and throwing in smartphone microphone support too. Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 promises a 15-percent accuracy increase versus the previous version, along with the ability to transcribe audio files; meanwhile, if you have an iPhone or Android device, you can use that as a wireless microphone.

Apple obviously brought its own challenge to speech recognition systems in the latest OS X release, with Mountain Lion supporting native transcription. However, Apple’s implementation is server-based, and so Macs require a data connection in order to process voice commands and dictation.

In contrast, Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 is self-contained, as well as including support throughout Mountain Lion, so there’s no need to be online. There’s integrated commands for Notes and Reminders, along with better understanding of formatting such as abbreviations and numbers; Nuance has also tweaked the way corrections are made, so as to streamline the process and take less time away from actual dictation.

If you’re working from a recorded audio file, meanwhile, you can load a .wav, .m4a, .m4v, .mp4, .aif, or .aiff recording and – as long as it’s a single person speaking – have it automatically transcribed. There’s also support for 16kHz wideband Bluetooth microphones for improved wireless recordings, and which – when automatically recognized by the app – bypasses the initial voice training program altogether. If you have either an iOS device or an Android phone, you can now use the Nuance Remote Microphone App too.

Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 is up for preorder now, priced at $199.99. Those already using Macspeech Dictate or Dragon Dictate can save $50 as an upgrade; there’ll also be bundles with a compatible Bluetooth headset. Digital deliveries are expected to begin September 13, with in-store shipments from September 24.

Dragon Dictate for Mac 3 boosts accuracy and adds Android mic support is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Personal voice assistants such as Siri and S-Voice certainly help shift handsets, but their functions are limited in scope to what Apple and Samsung implement. That issue can be sidestepped thanks to Nuance, who have today introduced Nina, a voice recognition service designed to be implemented directly into customer service apps for iOS and Android. The service combines multiple technologies such as text-to-speech, voice biometrics, and natural language understanding, all processed in the cloud that helps carries out commands.

Nina is apparently the first voice assistant service that combines voice recognition with biometrics, enabling services and companies to implement the solution and potentially serve up information or allow customers to pay bills without ever requiring a password. In Nuance’s examples, users could interact with their banks to help find the nearest ATM, or ask more complex queries regarding household insurance policies.

One banking institution is especially confident in the new functionality provided by Nina, with USAA, a bank that serves the US military and veterans, announcing a partnership with Nuance that will see the new technology used in its mobile banking app. A pilot app is expected to be unveiled in August for certain members before full fledged functionality rolls out to all USAA members next year.

Anyone else who wants to make use of Nina can do so with the release of the SDK today. It will be available in US, UK, and Australian English, and Nuance says that more languages will be coming in the future.

Nuance’s Nina brings Siri’s smarts to customer service apps is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Voice recognition technology from Nuance is all over the place — in everything from Smart TVs to Beemers. But today, in response to the growth of device-specific voice assistants like Siri and S-Voice, the company wants to take things down a different route: launching a mobile SDK for iOS and Android that any third-party app can employ. Baptized “Nina,” the voice assistant won’t only be able to understand instructions, but will also identify the speaker using vocal biometrics. That means Nina could potentially pay a bill, arrange a bank transfer, book a vacation or even interact with government services without ever requiring you to enter a password. The video after the break shows just how intimate things could get — assuming you’re able to find a spot where the two of you won’t be overheard.

Continue reading Voice assistant ‘Nina’ lets any app obey commands, makes speech your password

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software

Voice assistant ‘Nina’ lets any app obey commands, makes speech your password originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 06:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you think that voice dictation software is a lot more accurate and efficient compared to typing things out on the keyboard, or if you’re someone that multitasks a lot, then voice dictation software is probably a tool you rely on often, or wish you had. Well the good news is that Nuance has announced that the 12^th version of its Dragon NaturallySpeaking software will be shipping come 13^th of August. The upgrade is expected to introduce 100 new features, among which is faster performance and an increase of 20% in accuracy. It will also feature more integration with popular email platforms such as Gmail and Hotmail and will offer up extended support for the Dragon Remote Mic app for Android. If you have yet to try the app out for yourself, you can pop on over to Nuance’s website where additional details of the upcoming version 12 are available, and where you will be able to pre-order a copy for $100.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: BMW will be the first to feature Nuance’s Dragon Drive! Messaging technology, Swype updated to support Dragon Dictation,

Nuance isn’t content to let Apple’s Siri and Jelly Bean’s Google Now grab the voice interface spotlight; the company has a voice-controlled personal assistant of its own in the pipeline, Nina. Billed as having the potential to “change the face of mobile customer service forever,” Nina isn’t targeted at harried users wanting to set calendar appointments and call their spouses, but at companies hoping to put a more friendly, intuitive face on their product support.

“She’s smart, intuitive, flexible” Nuance promises, “Nina just gets you.” Both iPhone and Android devices are shown, suggesting Nina will be cross-platform, and the enterprise focus is clear: ”She’s all business” Nuance insists, “Your business.”

Nuance may not be a household name – though their Dragon range of dictation software for PC and Mac is a mainstay of voice recognition systems – but the company’s technology is far-reaching. Apple’s Siri uses Nuance’s speech recognition, as does the new Dictation feature in OS X Mountain Lion, though of course heavily rebranded. Meanwhile, Google Now is based on a homegrown speech database initially helmed by Nuance co-founder Mike Cohen (and dressed up with various speech-centric acquisitions along the way).

Though the target markets are different, then, Nina is likely to be met with some degree of familiarity or recognition when it arrives this summer. Full details are in short supply, but we’re guessing Nuance will offer a white-label natural speech recognition system for companies looking to automate their customer services.

[via Stefan Constantine]

Nuance borrows Siri tech for mobile helpdesk assistant is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.