VUI, the Next Step in UI
Voice User Interface (VUI) is the next logical step in the UI business. As our dependence on mobile phones and smart gadgets grows, the need for free eyes and free hands to do our daily activities grows. VUI strives to enable us to do as much of our digital work as possible without having a phone on our hands.
Many of the greatest names in the mobile technology industry have already started working on primary voice assistants. Google’s Assistance, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa are good examples of these efforts. However, these assistants have a long way to go to give the user a completely hands-free experience.
How can VUI change the world?
VUI allows hands-free usage
Using your phone or computer only with voice recognition technology allows you to engage in your daily activities and use your device simultaneously. It also allows everybody to use the latest technology relatively easily. Everybody can speak, and a user interface controlled with your voice will enable you to communicate with your device even if you are not tech-savvy.
Using VUI can also make a significant difference in people’s lives with any kind of physical or intellectual disability. Using technology has always been a challenge for these people. With the voice user interface and advanced voice recognition technologies, they can easily communicate with other people.
VUIs are intuitive
As the Voice User Interface becomes more advanced, the human interaction with it becomes smoother too. The ultimate goal of having a VUI is to have a coherent conversion in which there are no interruptions and misunderstandings. This requires the interface to be able to predict the user’s responses to some extent and prepare a proper response to them.
A VUI is so intuitive that you are able to hold long conversations with it without having to resort to visual aids. The fact that the VUI has to recognize human speech, process it, and prepare an answer for it in a short span of time is what companies are developing more and more these days.
Which companies are developing Voice User Interfaces?
Today, several market leaders have the most significant number of users in the world. Some of these leaders are Google’s Assistant, Apple’s Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa. Google’s Assistant is currently the most potent VUI in the world. According to an experiment performed by Loop Ventures, Google Assistant has the best performance by understanding and accurately answering 86 out of 100 questions.
One of the most incredible things about Google assistant is that you can completely change your Assistant’s voice. You can even set it to speak with the voice of John Legend, the pop singer. You can set Google Assistant to work with your other smart devices in your home. You can also buy a Google Assistant product.
Siri is definitely the market leader in this industry these days. This VUI can be used at home, on phones and tablets, in the car, and on smart wearables. Siri can set the alarm, a timer, and reminders for you. It can also read directions for you and remind you about your calendar.
Amazon’s Alexa accounted for 62% of the global assistant market in 2017. One reason for this significant success is that this platform is extremely versatile, and it can be used to learn a new skill as well. Microsoft Cortana is a windows-based platform that did not receive much attention when it was introduced as part of Windows 10. These days, Cortana is downloadable as a separate application. It has also planned its first integration with Alexa, which will help this platform become more efficient.
Kasisto
One of the most exciting companies that have used VUI in their field is Kasisto. This company has developed a platform called KAI, which is able to form deep and meaningful conversations with customers in the banking industry. Kasisto uses a mix of Artificial Intelligence and financial expertise to engage with the customer and answer their questions from retail transactions to wealth management.
Using KAI, companies, and brands can create digital assistants and chat boxes that help customers make the best decision regarding their business with the brand. Right now, KAI can assist customers in the areas of consumer banking, business banking, and investment management. What’s more, the KAI platform is continuously updating its language and financial systems to keep up with the latest technology.
Presently, Kasisto is a private company backed up by 20 private investors. Some of its most prominent investors include Commerce Ventures, DBS, Mastercard, New York Angels, and SRI International. Kasisto is also looking for partnerships that can expand their business and help their end customers in the long run. Some of this company’s partners are Deloitte, Blue Turtle, and Moneythor. They prefer to partner with companies that work in the digital marketing areas and expand their business into new regions and geographies.
Fluent.ai
Fluent.ai is another company that develops VUIs for public and corporate use. However, this company uses its own patented speech-to-intent approach that does not require the system to transform speech to text before processing it. This means that Fluent.ai can recognize speech in any language with an accent. It is also capable of operating fully offline, which can be an excellent advantage for IoT devices.
Using Fluent.ai, you can fully personalize your user interface to use your favorite language, accent, and phrases. Moreover, you can set your platform to recognize two or more languages simultaneously. With this system, you can talk to your smart devices in your own language and ask them to perform multiple tasks for you. Even if the device has multiple users, the system is able to recognize your voice and act according to your personal preferences.
Fluent.ai is a Canadian company that was founded in 2015. This company is currently privately owned and has 11 private investors. Up to now, the company has received more than $4 million of funding from these investors. Additionally, Fluent.ai has recently formed partnerships with companies such as Ambiq Micro and Commax. Inc to expand its smart home solutions and voice interface use cases. With these partnerships, this company will soon be able to embed its systems into smart homes and very small and smart wearables.
What is the future like for Voice User Interfaces?
All of the industry’s biggest names, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, have invested millions of dollars on the VUI platforms in the past few years. In fact, this market is projected to reach a value of $53.3 billion by 2028. This amount shows an increase of 17.6% in the value of the market over eight years.
The size of the market and the investments will ensure that VUIs will have a much smoother performance. You probably won’t need to repeat a wake-word, such as ok Google, to use the platforms. The VUI platforms are going to be more user-friendly, and their integration with other smart devices will definitely be more straightforward. What’s more, VUI platforms will be more customized according to the users’ tastes and preferences.
