The Hunt for Human Speech Data

With voice activated devices launching weekly, one might think that we’re reaching a tipping point in the use of speech recognition technologies. However, argues that while speech recognition has made great strides in recent years, the technology has not yet reached a point where it would replace how most consumers currently interact with their devices. Consumers have embraced the concept of voice activated devices with enthusiasm, but the actual experience has room for improvement. What is holding the technology back?

More data = better performance

According to the authors, what is needed to improve devices’ abilities to better understand and communicate with users is terabytes of human voice data representing multiple languages, accents and dialects to deepen the conversational understanding capabilities of the devices.
Recent advances in speech engines are the result of a form of artificial intelligence called neural networks which learn and change over time without precise programming. Loosely modeled after the human brain, these software systems can train themselves to make sense of the human world, performing better with increased amounts of data. Andrew Ng, Baidu’s chief scientist says, “The more data we shove in our systems the better it performs. This is why speech is such a capital-intensive exercise; not a lot of organizations have this much data.”
Tech giants including Amazon, Apple, Baidu and Microsoft are now racing to collect natural language data across the globe to improve accuracy. As Adam Coates from Baidu’s AI lab in Sunnyvale, CA states, “Our goal is to push the error rate down to 1 percent. That’s where you can really trust the device to understand what you’re saying, and that will be transformative.”
How can these firms scale their data collection in a cost-effective way while ensuring the speech data accurately captures the nuance of human language?

It’s about quantity AND quality

While the quantity of data is important, the quality is also critical to optimize machine learning algorithms. ‘Quality’ in this context includes how well the data fits the use case. For example, if a speech recognition engine is being developed for use in a car, the data needs to be collected in a car for best results, taking into account all of the typical background noises that the engine would ‘hear’.
While it’s tempting to use ‘off the shelf’ data and to try to collect the data using ad-hoc methods, it’s more effective in the long run to collect data specifically for its end use.
This principle also applies when building global speech recognition products. Human language data is nuanced, accented and full of cultural bias. Data collection must be undertaken in a multitude of languages, geographies, locations and accents to reduce error rates and improve performance.

Partner with Appen

At Appen, we continue to play a key role in the evolution of natural language processing and conversational understanding, having spent the last 20 years working with the top global technology companies to build speech and natural language interfaces for the leading virtual assistants on the market today. We have years of experience working in language data collection in a wide range of environments, from in-studio to outdoors, using a variety of modalities.
to discuss your specific data collection needs and how we can help you meet your goals.

In Q1 2016, Apple Led the Detachables Market in the U.K. Hands Down with the iPad Pro

In February Patently Apple posted a report titled "Apple's iPad Pro was surprisingly the Top 'Detachable' Sold in Q4 2015." Our report also noted that Microsoft was unable to crack the five top vendors list in Europe for their Surface line of detachables. A new IDC report published yesterday continues to show that Microsoft's Surface struggles to crack the U.K.'s overall market. Though IDC does note that in the business sector alone, Microsoft's Surface holds about 33% market share. Overall however, Apple took the top spot in detachables.

Interestingly the U.K. became the largest detachable market in Western Europe in the first quarter of 2016, according to IDC's latest statistics. The U.K. overtook Germany, which as expected had ended 2015 as the leading country for this form factor. With more than 300,000 unit shipments the U.K. accounted for 23% of total detachable shipments in Europe and appears set to remain at the top of the country ranking in the short term.

The introduction of the iPad Pro provided an additional boost to the detachable market and extended the customer base while keeping Apple as the leader in this category of product.

On the consumer side, IDC notes that "the main factor behind the boost in detachable shipments was the introduction of the iPad Pro, which not only marked Apple's entrance into the detachable market but also secured consumer leadership for the vendor."

Marta Fiorentini, research manager, IDC EMEA Personal Computing noted for the report that "The shift in form factor demand that we have been observing over the last several quarters is going to benefit significantly from the expansion of Apple's offering into this area, especially in a market such as the U.K., where Apple's brand awareness and loyal customer base remain strong."

The introduction of the smaller iPad Pro had only a limited effect in Q1 as the product became available to order only in the last week of the quarter and through limited channels; however, a bigger impact is expected from Q2. Even though the price difference with the iPad Air-line will have an impact on demand initially, the iPad Pro 9.7" model will help sway current iPad owners to renew their existing device, especially as Apple discontinues higher-spec configurations of the models without keyboard.

Phablets continue to appeal to customers in the U.K., with sales increasing 35.4% year on year in 2016 Q1 to 1.6 million units. "Samsung created the phablet category in 2012, but it was Apple that brought the category to the limelight with the launch of the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6S Plus. Both devices have helped Apple perform strongly in the phablet segment, where it holds 44% market share," said Francisco Jeronimo, research director, European Mobile Devices, IDC EMEA.

In the U.K., Apple's strong brand appeal is reflected in the entire smart connected device market — Apple leads the market in 2016 Q1 with almost a third of total shipments due to strong demand for phablets, detachables and ultraslims. 

Getting Water and Transportation with Local Bike

This picture reveals that we can do every thing with recent available sources, we can make every gadget and tools, nothing is impossible in thie scientific world, use your brain and get your goal, this is easy and achievable.

Article-03 - Latest Consumer Electronics

The world of electronics is progressing very fast than ever before. The technology in consumer electronics is changing rapidly to compliment latest lifestyle. Latest inventions, novel products and improvements for existing products are designed every third day especially in latest consumer electronics. In recent years, the latest consumer electronics section has undergone great alterations. All this has contributed to a new way of life. Efficiency and integration are the key factors that have helped in the tremendous growth in latest consumer electronics technology especially in portable electronics. The latest consumer electronics include introduction of wireless devices and the trend towards digitization continue to accelerate the field of portable consumer electronics.

From analog to digital, latest consumer electronics are budding up with hottest technology called WiFi (Wireless Fidelity). Applications like Voice Over IP (VoIP), web surfing, MP3 play back and movie play back are among of the highly desirable convergence applications implemented in latest consumer electronics. Origins in the PC world, Wi-Fi and HDD, are being rapidly adapted by the latest consumer electronics industry. The market features latest Consumer electronics products everyday.

The latest consumer electronics are compact, lightweight and have easy mobility. If you want you can get latest consumer electronics that are handheld, powered by battery and are portable. The life cycle of latest consumer electronic products is shorter than in comparison to other market segments.

The driving feature seen in latest consumer electronic product basically comes from consumers who are looking for more convenient features and functions. These variables continue to drive advances in design and manufacturing process technologies.

The latest consumer electronics include products like Portable Media Players (PMPs), Smartphones, and GPS-PDAs that are considered among the hottest convergence products in this segment. Other latest consumer electronic devices that are portable are laptop computers, hand-held devices such as cellular telephones, personal media devices including the iPod from Apple Computer, and compact disc players.

Ironman and Audi R8

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark, the leading man in the Paramount and Marvel Studios movie version of "Iron Man". Head of a big industrial complex, he owes his super-powers to an indestructible, hi-tech suit of armor of his own design that has a variety of uses and earns him the title "Iron Man."

When he's not wearing it, this billionaire technophile relies on his Audi R8. It matches Stark's super hero guise very well: The slits through which Iron Man views the world resemble the all-LED headlamps on the R8, Stark's artificial heart with its ring of lights recalls the sports car's exposed mid-engine and his immensely tough armor is matched by the Audi Space Frame, the high-strength aluminum structure on which this hi-tech automobile is built. The film's hero and his favored mode of transport both symbolize Audi's famous technical leadership claim: "Vorsprung durch Technik."

"The Audi R8 is the perfect car for Tony Stark," says Iron Man's director Jon Favreau. "It's a technical masterpiece, it's fast and safe - and it's the ultimate eye-catcher." Tony Stark delights in luxury; he's intelligent, demanding and a lover of life to the full. Naturally he utilizes his exceptional abilities for the good of mankind - when he takes on the personality of Iron Man, his super-hero alter ego. There has never been a comic-strip hero with such a deep-seated understanding of technology and the opportunities opened up by innovation and progressive ideas.

The attitudes that the leading character represents were one of the main reasons why Audi became involved in this production: interaction between the role, the movie as a whole and the product is the decisive factor in successful product placement. Michael Renz, Head of Central Marketing at Audi, says: "The character and lifestyle of Tony Stark tie in very well with the attributes of the Audi R8. And in any case, "Iron Man" is one of the world's best-known, never-aging super-heroes - an opportunity we were determined not to miss!"

What interesting things have you learned about the Great Exhibition?

Upcoming Latest Technology: Bluetooth 4.0 Q410

Today, a group of individuals has announced the upcoming arrival of the latest Bluetooth technology, the Bluetooth 4.0. This Interest Group has said that the new version, Bluetooth 4.0, will be coming in the 4th quarter of this year with the latest devices such as headsets, mobile phones and computers and other kinds of technology. It was also stated that with this latest technology, it will allows devices with smaller batteries to use the Bluetooth 4.0. Where in the previous versions of Bluetooth requires a device to have at lease a triple A-batteries or larger capacity battery to function. The Bluetooth 4.0 is also dubbed to consume lesser power than the old version, and has a higher transfer rate of data, in which it will carry the high-speed Wi-Fi feature introduced with Bluetooth 3.0. That allows devices to jump onto Wi-Fi 802.11 networks, where it can transfer data at up to 25Mbits per second. By the way the version 3.0 was launched last year although it does not become popular enough due to the power requirements needed. That’s why version 4.0 was created to solve this problem.