Meet Nina, Siri’s App-tastic Cousin

By: Kuljit Grewal  |   August 7th, 2012   |   Android, Apple, Business, Gadgets, Mobile Apps, News, Smartphones

For all the hype (and slight disappointment) that surrounded Apple’s iPhone 4S, the biggest upgrade for fans of the device and brand overall was Siri; the voice activation/personal assistant that was a celebrated game changer.

 

One of the major limitations surrounding Siri’s application is that although one is able to book appointments and ask general questions, the functionality and software potential are not capable within third party apps.

 

Nuance Communications (NUAN), a Burlington, Massachusetts firm that specializes in voice recognition software have introduced a new product via a software development kit (SDK) for use within iOS and Android applications. Nuance, who cite Apple and Samsung as clients have named the software Nina, and anticipate that it will be highly useful to app developers in a myriad of industries including banking, airlines and hotels among others.

 

According to the official statement from Nunace, Nina allows said companies to add a veritable virtual assistant to their existing and new applications. The overall functionality includes speech recognition, text to speech as well as natural language understanding. The real kicker however is the integration of voice biometrics into the technology, literally allowing your app to recognize your voice and identify you.

 

This of course brings literally boundless possibilities to those who are creative enough to use Nina within their applications. The software allows a complex combination of steps to be corralled into a single voice command.

 

Nina harnesses Nuance’s Voice Assistant Cloud, meaning that it requires a network connection to function. Although the standard voice sounds eerily similar to Siri, businesses will be able to choose from up to 40 different voices or even customize their own voice if they so choose.

 

Check out the Nina promo video below.