Deutsche Telekom to develop a voice control system for its services

Deutsche Telekom to develop a voice control system for its services

• Deutsche Telekom presents its own in-house voice control system and smart speaker
• Highest quality in design, technology and data privacy
• Developed together with strong international partners

BONN, 14-Nov-2017 — /EuropaWire/ — Deutsche Telekom is developing a voice control system for its services in cooperation with well-known partners in research and development. The Smart Speaker is an intelligent assistant that can be used to control Deutsche Telekom services from home using the wake word “Hello Magenta”, making everyday life easier through voice control technology.

Smart voice control for Deutsche Telekom services

Leveraging the constantly growing learning capacities of voice-controlled assistants, connected devices in your home are controlled by voice commands. Using such technology you can enjoy EntertainTV, for example, without having to go looking for the remote control. Whether you want to change channel or turn the volume up or down – all you need to do is say so. And your smartphone stays safely in your pocket as you control your SmartHome applications. A simple spoken command is all you need to dim the lights or to change the room temperature. Your smart assistant also has its strengths while you are on the phone – you can simply tell it to put your call on Smart Speaker. The system connects directly with the router, so there is no need for any extra device. Other applications are available through cooperating partners, including the Tagesschau or radioplayer.de, and users can access a variety of applications already available to Amazon^TM‘s voice control tool Alexa via a connection with the Amazon system.

Joint development involving researchers and acoustic designers

The researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology in Oldenburg are playing a key role in the development of the smart speaker. The Fraunhofer specialists have designed the combination of loudspeakers and microphones for smart voice control and have created an impressive acoustic system for it. The result can be seen – and especially heard – in the form of a compact high-end stereo audio system with two 42-mm loudspeakers and an output power of 25 watts, together with a combination of four highly sensitive microphones, optimized to provide the highest possible level of precision in voice control. As a result, the Smart Speaker can understand the requests of a house’s occupants even from far away, in noisy atmospheres or while music is playing.

The highest standards in data privacy

In terms of data security too the Smart Speaker meets the most demanding requirements: commands are stored for only 30 days. But what makes the system special is that the servers it uses are located exclusively in Germany, making them subject to Germany’s strict data protection law.

“Operating services via voice-controlled assistants is becoming increasingly important and the time has come for a first product according to German data protection acts. ,” says Michael Hagspihl, who is in charge of consumer business at Telekom Deutschland. “We’re convinced that voice control is going to become an essential element in the market in the future. All the more reason then to celebrate the fact that we’re now in a position to present such a pioneering quality product together with our partners.”

The Smart Speaker will be launched on the German market in the first half of 2018.

SOURCE: Deutsche Telekom AG

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