The partnership will enable Gracenote’s music metadata to be enhanced with ScanSoft’s embedded speech solutions. The companies are also developing command-and-control dictionaries that will utilize Gracenote’s latest media management products.
The companies hope that this combination of technologies will allow device manufacturers to quickly deploy speech recognition technology in many types of digital entertainment devices and to pass on superior performance and usability to their customers. The end products are expected to provide consumers with hands-free access to their entire music collections in the car, at home or on the go.
Voice command-and-control unlocks the potential of devices that can store large digital music collections, stated Ross Blanchard, vice president of Business Development for Gracenote, adding that the technology would make devices easier to use. For example, these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience, allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel.
The combined Gracenote and ScanSoft solution will aim to make it easier for consumers to manage and enjoy their music and video collections by using voice command-and-control to navigate to all media instantly, play instant new custom mixes and find information on artists and songs.
Targeted products include car entertainment, portable media players and home entertainment devices such as media servers. The companies estimate that fully-integrated solutions for hardware and software platforms will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.
