High-Accuracy Speech Recognition Enables Users to Input Text Three Times Faster Than Traditional Methods
SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Oct 3, 2016) - Baidu Research, a division of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), today introduced
TalkType, the first voice-centric, full-function keyboard for Android devices. It is available now on the Google Play Store for
the U.S.
TalkType enables users to input text 3x faster than typing. TalkType was inspired by
a recent speech recognition study published by Stanford, University of Washington and Baidu Research. The study demonstrates
the speed and accuracy benefits of speech input on mobile devices, as compared to typing. TalkType is built on the same Baidu
speech recognition engine that was used in the study.
The TalkType user interface is designed specifically for speech input, with a large microphone icon placed front and center in
the app. TalkType integrates an alphanumeric keyboard that supports swipe and emojis. The new Baidu QuickShare feature in
TalkType enables easy sharing of GIFs, as well as local business and location information.
Andrew Ng, chief scientist, Baidu, said: "At the core of TalkType is Baidu's speech recognition engine, built using deep
learning. High-accuracy speech recognition makes it possible to achieve speeds up to three times faster than before. As speech
recognition continues to make dramatic improvements, it's natural that speech will become a more and more popular way to
communicate with devices."
"TalkType is the first full-function Android keyboard that is 'voice first,' not 'voice also,'" commented Bijit Halder, head
of Baidu's Silicon Valley AI Lab (SVAIL) product team. "Unlike conventional keyboard designs, where voice is targeted for
occasional use and delegated to a small icon, TalkType is designed for voice as the primary input mode."
James Landay, professor of computer science at Stanford and co-author of the speech recognition study, added: "In the past two
to three years, speech recognition has improved a lot, benefiting from big data and deep learning to train its neural networks to
produce faster, more accurate results. I believe that TalkType is just the beginning of a spate of a new mobile apps that will be
designed from the ground up to use speech as their primary input method."
Watch the TalkType video
Download the TalkType app
About Baidu Research
Baidu
Research, based in Silicon Valley and Beijing, is led by Dr. Andrew Ng, Chief Scientist of Baidu, Inc. The organization
brings together global research talent to work on fundamental technologies in areas such as image recognition, speech
recognition, natural language processing, robotics and big data.
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