New York-based Berkeley Speech Technologies has had its application approved to patent a system that converts a faxed message into speech before it is delivered. Berkeley believes the announcement is important because it will lead to far more integration between fax, which is becoming a preferred method of sending electronic mail, and the millions of executives who now rely on voice mail to get their messages. The first application of the new technology will be in a program called ReadOut Message Center, being developed by the company’s Bestspeech Products unit. ReadOut Systems will translate both electronic mail and fax into voice messsages for delivery to remote locations. Berkeley’s fax-to-speech technology will be put into ASIC chips for use in fax machines – these chips will be available in 1991.
