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A Voice-Controlled TV Remote

Posted by timothy on from the your-little-sister-doesn't-count dept.

Pankaj Arora writes "California-based Agile TV aims to 'change the way people watch TV' via the creation of its voice-controlled TV remote, Promptu. From the article: 'The Promptu remote is designed to replace a conventional remote control and includes a "Talk" button and a built-in microphone, together with an infra-red receiver used in conjunction with an existing cable box.' Personally, I'm waiting for the version that interfaces with your brain."

4 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. Email Powered? by sammykrupa · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How about a TV where you email it directions? Examples:

    1. Tape all "Charmed" episodes

    2. Turn OFF

    Think of the possibilities! You won't even need to be in the same country!

    --
    Dashboard Widgets
  2. Re:voice control by MBCook · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I can see that to a degree. "Volume up, volume up, volume up" or "next, next, next, next". But if the TV was smarter (or it integrated with your TiVo or something) then it could be very hany. If you use a TiVo, then you basically never use the channel up/down buttons (I don't). So the commands could be more like:
    • Play Friday's Law & Order
    • Play the oldest Cheers episode
    • Add a wishlist for "Stargate"
    • Record PBS at 5pm on Wendsday
    • Show me the to-do list
    • or... Play all episodes on the TiVo of shows directed by people who's last names start with the letter "R" that were NOT aired in the 80s in alphebetical order of guest stars' characters' first names. (OK, useless, but can you imagine how hard it would be to enter that in a UI with just a remote?).

    Give the box some intelligence and it could be useful. But one word for each remote button on a standard TV would be painful.

    --
    Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
  3. Re:voice control by rustbear · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It is stupid to compare this to a desktop ViaVoice. Because ViaVoice desktop edition has a vocabulary of 200,000 words, it requires training and results are not always accurate. However a device such as this voice remote control has a very limited vocabulary. Simply put, it has a smaller subset of words to choose from, so accuracy goes up. The limited-vocab systems can be very robust, as long as the software interface itself is well written, and the grammars are constructed correctly.

    These types of systems have been around for yonks, mainly used in telephone booking systems, customer support call centres for various big organisations, etc

  4. Re:Arguing about a distorted topic by brianf711 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Voice control of a TV remote isn't the same as voice-controlling a computer, as there is already or will be a BIG TV MAKING LOUD NOISES IN YOUR VICINITY.
    If this catches on, will the FCC outlaw shows that say "power off" and such as they can cause device interference?