Amazon, BMW, Salesforce, Microsoft, Spotify and Others Announce the Voice Interoperability Initiative

From the Amazon.com:

Today, Amazon and leading technology companies announced the Voice Interoperability Initiative, a new program to ensure voice-enabled products provide customers with choice and flexibility through multiple, interoperable voice services. The initiative is built around a shared belief that voice services should work seamlessly alongside one another on a single device, and that voice-enabled products should be designed to support multiple simultaneous wake words.

More than 30 companies are supporting the effort, including global brands like Amazon, Baidu, BMW, Bose, Cerence, ecobee, Harman, Logitech, Microsoft, Salesforce, Sonos, Sound United, Sony Audio Group, Spotify and Tencent; telecommunications operators like Free, Orange, SFR and Verizon; hardware solutions providers like Amlogic, InnoMedia, Intel, MediaTek, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., SGW Global and Tonly; and systems integrators like CommScope, DiscVision, Libre, Linkplay, MyBox, Sagemcom, StreamUnlimited and Sugr.

“Multiple simultaneous wake words provide the best option for customers,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “Utterance by utterance, customers can choose which voice service will best support a particular interaction. It’s exciting to see these companies come together in pursuit of that vision.”

• The Voice Interoperability Initiative is built around four priorities:
• Developing voice services that can work seamlessly with others, while protecting the privacy and security of customers
• Building voice-enabled devices that promote choice and flexibility through multiple, simultaneous wake words
• Releasing technologies and solutions that make it easier to integrate multiple voice services on a single product
• Accelerating machine learning and conversational AI research to improve the breadth, quality and interoperability of voice services

Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement

Direct to Voice Interoperability Initiative Website

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