Apple, Beware: Google Now Coming to iOS, Chrome, Chrome OS & Windows 8

Google Now speech recognition going cross platform…

Source: google.com

Regarded by some as the innovation of 2012, Google Now wants to be a hit in 2013, as well, by expanding beyond Android. If this is not a a gauntlet that Google is throwing down in front of Apple’s Siri, then I don’t know what it is. Google Now also makes use of another new project that Google has been developing in its secret laboratories: Knowledge Graph. The “cards” that Google Now passively displays, according to your search habits, use the information from Knowledge Graph.

But if you already know how awesome Google Now is, – and if you have an Android phone with Jelly Bean then you should now – then you understand the excitement behind bringing Google Now to other OS platforms. Google Now is the awesome feature that shows you search results without you having to look for them. Sure, this brings up again the issue of tracking and privacy, but if we believe Google abides by its motto (don’t be evil), this shouldn’t harm us that much.

Promotional Google Now video for iOS leaks online

As we are all already used to it, a leak is usually enough to fire up discussions and to make early judgments. And when the leak seems to be very genuine, like it’s the case right now, many of us take it for granted. Engadget was tipped off to a YouTube video that was displaying Google Now for iOS. Unsurprisingly, the video was shortly removed, but not quick enough for the online media to totally miss out. Have a look at both videos, the leaked one and the original Google Now and judge for yourself if this is a well-made, yet phony video or a genuine one.

We can see that its the same voice and the promotional video is done in the same style, maybe too similar to the first one, to be frank. And it’s difficult to think that somebody could reproduce the exact voice, make a video that could appear similar to the first one just for … fun? Or has Google intentionally let this through, to prepare users for what’s coming? And I find it even harder to believe that the hint of Google Now coming to Chrome is a coincidence.

Discovered Chrome flag pinpoints to Google Now on Chrome, Chrome OS

We have previously assumed (December 2012) that Google Now was bound to arrive on the Chrome browser and the Chrome operating system. The assumptions and discussions around this have intensified when we spotted a new, important feature in the Chrome OS - the Notifications Galore. Stephen Shankland with Cnet makes a valid point, connecting this feature and the upcoming Google Now:

The infrastructure dovetails with a new rich notification system being built into Chrome and Chrome OS, a mechanism that will let developers use HTML-formatted pop-ups. That will be handy for Google Now notifications, which often display graphics like maps and weather icons

But it was François Beaufort, a curious French developer known to discover various bugs & leaks, that found the Chrome flag which shows a clear reference to the coming of Google Now to the Chrome browser.

If coding doesn’t scare you as much as it scares me and if you know your way around Chromium, try and find it here or here. If not, then simply please yourself with the picture below.

Ok, but where does Windows 8 come in? If you will look carefully on the Chromium Code thread, then you will find the following:

Google Now component extension now can be turned on via chrome://flags. The server name needs to be set manually in JS debugger via local memory. TEST=Enable the extension via chrome://flags, set the server via local memory, restart, make sure cards appear. Check this on CrOS and Windows. When this starts working in Canary, set it up to see cards, wait till next day, update Canary to the next version, make sure cards appear on (1) the first start after the update; (2) following starts.

What else than Chrome OS could CrOS mean? And if this is going to Windows, it’s obviously going to Windows 8, not older versions, right? And it makes sense to give such a tool to Windows 8 and Windows RT users – since they are always on the go, Google Now will prove to be a very useful tool for them.

Siri needs to smarten up

Google Now is going to appear on Windows 8, Chrome, Chrome OS and iOS, thus becoming a central tool in our daily lives. You won’t even realize it when you will become dependent on the “cards” Google Now will passively and intelligently fetch you. Google Now will complete the Search app and function in a brilliant way and you won’t even notice when you won’t care anymore about the fact that Google knows so many things about you. You’ll become so addicted to using Google Now that you’ll embrace the technology without asking any questions.

So, the big question remains, what can Apple do? Well, it has only one choice – to innovate, innovate and innovate. We don’t know what rabbit is Apple going to pull out of its bottomless hat, but if their magic trick fails, we will all boo. Google’s doing great, embedding its search engine in our daily lives, making us need, love and look after it. Just look how many things Google Now can do now (pun intended). Google Now will expand to Windows, as well, one thing which Apple can’t do because they are special and closed. Let’s see what Siri has to say.

via http://www.speechtechnologygroup.com/speech-blog - Google Now speech recognition going cross platform… Source:  google.com R egarded by some as the innovation of 2012 , Google Now wants to be a hit in 2013, as well, by expanding beyond Android. If this is not a a gauntlet that Google is throwing down in front of Apple’s Siri, then I don’t know what ...

Google Glass project acquires voice and object recognition company - News

Can't remember a person's name? 

Google Glass might help using speech and object recognition technology…

Source: google.com

Google Glass

Google has just acquired DNNresearch, a technology start-up from the Computer Science department at the University of Toronto responsible for researching speech and object recognition software.

DNNresearhc specialises in object and speech recognition and was incorporated by the University of Toronto just last year. The software they are currently researching could mean Google’s augmented reality Google Glass technology could integrate capabilities to search for specific objects or faces.

At SXSW, Google showed off the InSight app as part of a showcase of a new host of Google Glass features. The app is capable of identifying people by the clothes they’re wearing, but the software has obvious limitations, in that it wouldn’t recognise them if they changed outfits. The DDNresearch research could mean that Google Glass is capable of recognising speech, objects and faces within its memory. The company’s research “has profound implications for areas such as speech recognition, computer vision and language understanding.”Google’s acquisition of the company means that the company’s founder, Geoffrey Hinton and two of his graduate students will now be moving to work for Google. “Geoffrey Hinton’s research is a magnificent example of disruptive innovation with roots in basic research,” said the University of Toronto’s president David Naylor. “The discoveries of brilliant researchers, guided freely by their expertise, curiosity and intuition, lead eventually to practical applications no one could have imagined, much less requisitioned.”Having previously donated $600,000 (£402,171) to DNNresearch, Google has been eyeing up the start-up company for quite a while. “Last summer, I spent several months working with Google’s Knowledge team in Mountain View, working with Jeff Dean and an incredible group of scientists and engineers who have a real shot at making spectacular progress in machine learning,” said Hinton.“I am betting on Google’s team to be the epicentre of future breakthroughs.”Are you excited or scared by the potential technologies capabilities Google Glass could wield? Are you quite happy with your smartphone and wouldn’t want to have access to Google Glass? Give us your thoughts via the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter pages or the comments section below.  #End 

Via: TechCrunch

 

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Gerd

via http://www.speechtechnologygroup.com/speech-blog - Can't remember a person's name?  Google Glass might help using speech and object recognition technology… Source:  google.com Google Glass Google has just acquired DNNresearch, a technology start-up from the Computer Science department at the University of Toronto responsible for researching speech a ...

HARMAN Integrates Apple’s Siri Into Ferrari

Now even your Ferrari is listening to your voice recognition commands. Take Siri for a wild ride.

Source:  google.com

HARMAN is providing Ferrari in-car speech control. At the Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari showcased the integration of Apples Siri in its latest Ferrari FF model, marking the first such system integration by HARMAN.

Due to the seamless combination of Apple’s technology with the existing head unit, operation is just as simple as it is with any Siri enabled iPhone. A long press of the infotainment systems menu button on the steering wheel activates Siri, while commands and audio feedback are picked up clearly and played through built-in microphones and the cars audio system. Additionally, the volume is adjusted for better comprehensibility – just like the mobile phone, where Siri stops any music being played once it is activated.

Michael Mauser, HARMAN’s Executive Vice President and Co-President of Infotainment & Lifestyle Divisions, comments: “This Siri integration is an important milestone in the cooperation between HARMAN and Ferrari. By transferring the known modus operandi to the car, Ferrari offers its customers the ease of use of their mobile devices with an embedded premium HARMAN infotainment system.”

via http://www.speechtechnologygroup.com/speech-blog - Now even your Ferrari is listening to your voice recognition commands. Take Siri for a wild ride. Source:   google.com HARMAN is providing Ferrari in-car speech control. At the Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari showcased the integration of Apples Siri in its latest Ferrari FF model, marking the first such ...

Google’s 4 Biggest Technical Challenges, According To Search Guru Amit Singhal - SXSW

Is Google trying to model the voice recognition capabilities seen in Star Trek?

Source:  Forbes 

Amit Singhal

Google is the dominant player in Internet search and one of the most important technology companies. But it still faces major challenges.

Google’s Amit Singhal, senior vice president of search and Google Fellow, was asked in a talk at South By Southwest what Google’s biggest challenges are to solving its mission.

Those four technical challenges are: the knowledge graph, speech recognition, natural language understanding and (understanding) conversation, he said. These four areas are technical problems that, despite Google’s improvements, are still “not solved,” Singha said.

The knowledge graph is about “understanding the world as you and I do”–in other words, the connections between things and ideas and how they relate to each other, which underlies Google’s core search focus. Speech recognition is translating the human voice into text, which is key to things like searching by voice. Natural language is understanding the nuances of language, which allows the conversion of voice transcription into meaningful information. Conversation is related to natural language.

Still, Singha says search has progressed much faster than he thought it would have when he was in graduate school studying the problem 20 years ago. “When I was starting out as a graduate student in search we would struggle to figure out ‘apple’ is a company and also ‘apple’ is a fruit,” Singhal saidin a talk about the future of Google search and mobile with Guy Kawasaki.

Today however, you can type “church address” in Google and the search engine will know you’re looking for a physical map address. But if you type “Feedburner address” Google will know you’re looking for a URL.

Singhal, who joined Google 12 years ago, emphasized a vision of search based on the sci-fi vision in Star Trek. In the show, Captain Kirk would ask the computer any question and the computer would spit out an answer. Singhal pointed to Google Now, which is designed to send users information before they even search for it, such as flight delay information, or when someone should leave for a meeting, taking into account traffic.

“It should tell you things when you don’t ask it. If your flight is delayed you shouldn’t have to ask what’s the status. It should just know. Or you have a meeting an hour away and there’s bad traffic. Google should tell you, you’d better leave now. Our vision of Google is things you need to know just come to you… Our dream is for search to become the Star Trek computer. That’s what we’re building today.”

via http://www.speechtechnologygroup.com/speech-blog - Is Google trying to model the voice recognition capabilities seen in Star Trek? Source:   Forbes  Amit Singhal Google is the dominant player in Internet search and one of the most important technology companies. But it still faces major challenges. Google’s Amit Singhal , senior vice president of se ...

Voice recognition technology looks beyond Siri - BLOUIN BEAT: Technology

Quo vadis, speech recognition?

The journey had just begun.…

Source:  google.com  

A man uses ‘Siri’ on the new iPhone 4S on October 14, 2011 in London, England. Getty Images/Oli Scarff

Apple’s voice-activated companion, Siri, is probably the single most well-known piece of consumer voice-recognition technology. But the interactive voice response (IVR) industry is a big one, with scores of applications for businesses as well as individual users. The market for voice-based apps is still on the rise as different mobile devices become available, so there is still much to see from software providers in the way of voice-activated apps.

Google’s answer to Siri reached iOS in late 2012 as part of an update to Google’s iOS search app. The voice feature was touted as better than Apple’s software: it provided context for voice transcriptions and queries which incorporated more intelligence about individual users, preferences, habits and locations — something Siri users found a frustrating shortcoming of the native-to-iPhone software. Indeed, the complaint that Siri doesn’t actually do much beyond enabling users to perform voice-activated searches on web apps or plug in calendar events with voice commands has led advocates of Google-based apps to latch onto Google Now – not, in fact,a voice-based service at all (which may itself serve as a sharp criticism indeed of Apple’s bodiless helpmeet). The functionality of Google Now, though, is what users began to crave when Siri came up short on delivering real-time information about their locations and tasks.

Fortunately, the old Apple/Google duopoly might soon experience some disruption. Amazon acquired Ivona, a text-to-speech company, in January, supposedly to build voice recognition into its Kindle products. Some of Ivona’s technology was already infused into the Kindle Fire, but Amazon’s purchase solidified its intentions to commit to IVR as a core element of its product offerings. Some think it opens the door for Amazon to explore devices other than tablets, which would mean its IVR apps could someday stand in direct competition with Siri.

The next plane of relevance for voice recognition technology might lie in the browser, or so Google seems to think. It’s latest Chrome browser for desktop and Android includes Web Speech API to allow developers to build speech recognition into web apps. It might lie in the console: Microsoft has promised to improve speech recognition technology inside the next Xbox. It might be found on the open road: auto manufacturers are bringing integral IVR systems to automobiles, and GM just released a software development kit for some 2014 vehicles. IVR continues to be highly useful for healthcare organizations, contact centers, and the education sector, so regardless of the next step, there is room for software providers to make inroads into the voice recognition space and room for developers to take advantage of it beyond enabling Joe Schmo to find the nearest waffle house. #End 

google.com |by Juliana Kenny on February 13, 2013

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Best,

Gerd

via http://www.speechtechnologygroup.com/speech-blog - Quo vadis, speech recognition? The journey had just begun.… Source:   google.com   A man uses ‘Siri’ on the new iPhone 4S on October 14, 2011 in London, England. Getty Images/Oli Scarff A pple’s voice-activated companion, Siri, is probably the single most well-known piece of consumer voice-recogniti ...