“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “To [Toq] of many of things…”
Okay, so maybe Lewis Carroll said it better, and maybe we’re reaching to draw a correlation between an iconic fictional tale of imagination, exploration and opportunity and the vision of two of today’s leading technology companies that are aspiring to unlock the continued potential of devices and the humans that interact with them. Maybe.
Or, maybe, the world of intelligent, proactive and human-like devices has more in common with the sage story teller and his revelry than we think. Through the eyes of companies like Nuance Communications, pursuing the impossible has led to creating novel ideas that take the shape of virtual personas, assistants and advisors that have access to a broad set of content and information – ultimately, creating an avenue for technology to become an organic part of our day to day lives. These solutions manifest themselves in many ways – through desktop computer, smartphone and tablet applications, and, more recently, through wearable devices.
As an example of this, Qualcomm, a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies, products and services, launched an intelligent wearable device, the Qualcomm Toq smartwatch, in the fall of 2013. For those of you who have not had a chance to try it just yet, the Qualcomm Toq is a stylish smartwatch that serves as a second display to your smartphone, while showcasing the visibly different Qualcomm Mirasol™ display technology – a technology viewable in bright sunlight that makes reading effortless, is always on and wirelessly charges using Qualcomm WiPower™ technology. It even offers its wearer multiple days of battery on a single charge.
Starting today, the enhanced Qualcomm Toq smartwatch will now harness Nuance’s voice-to-text capabilities to allow users to create and respond to text messages directly from their wrist without needing to take their phone out of their pocket or purse. Simply speak your message to the Toq smartwatch, confirm the transcribed text, and send.
And this is just the beginning. Nuance is a company focused on creating the world’s next-generation, cloud-based intelligent systems that hear and understand you, know who you are, and adapt to your needs and preferences, all through voice-based, gesture-based and natural language understanding technology.
“It would be so nice if something made sense for a change.”
- Alice, Alice in Wonderland
The fact that wearables are, in actuality, wearable denotes that these devices are smaller, attaching themselves to our wrists or bodies in some fashion. This smaller size, while perfect for transporting and as coveted new accessories, presents a challenge for creators, notably with the shrunken screen size. Small screens require an entirely new engagement model . Natural language models can be applied not only to voice commands, but also gestures and other input modalities to offer a more flexible interpretation of the user intent.
Once thought of as impossible – the stuff of fantasy – reliable and conversational personal assistants are quickly becoming an expectation. With the market expected to grow to 45 million shipped wearable devices by 2017 and home automation adoption on the rise, the desire for mobile app, smartphone, Smart TV, PC, automotive, home automation and wearable device experiences is very real. These intelligent systems take the shape of personas, assistants and advisors that have access to a broad set of content and information that make technology an organic part of our day to day lives.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
These assistants, powered by voice, touch and natural language understanding are reinventing our relationship with technology – creating opportunities for humanized engagement with consumer electronics, apps and services from the world’s most respected and trusted brands.
Nuance invests deeply in voice and touch innovation, and aims to continually break down the traditional barriers of technology (small screens, complex menus, keyboards and more), and the traditional user interface – creating a more natural way for device and humans to communicate. Nuance’s technologies are flexible and adaptable to meet the specific needs of the world’s leading manufacturers and developers.
“What an idea. A crazy, mad, wonderful idea.”
- Alice, Alice in Wonderland
Today, questioning, exploring and searching for the next best thing is vital to keeping up with the constantly changing needs of users within a world of intelligent personal assistant technologies. Follow us down the rabbit hole into our own world of adventure and whimsy – a world where technology adapts to you versus the other way around, and you can unlock the door to a world of connectivity and imagination – and, not to mention, wondrous, wearable things.
If you are interested in a briefing with a Nuance executive on this latest announcement or additional topics, please contact: molly.kelley@nuance.com.
The Qualcomm Toq smartwatch is currently available at toq.qualcomm.com.
To learn more, please visit toq.qualcomm.com
If you are interested in a briefing with a Qualcomm or Nuance executive on this latest announcement or additional topics, please contact: molly.kelley@nuance.com.
For additional updates from Nuance, follow: @NuanceMobile or @NuanceInc on Twitter.
For additional updates from Qualcomm, follow: @QualcommToq on Twitter.
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