Dr. Yianni Doumenis
Quantimetrica: Control any device with short voice commands
by Dr. Yiannis Doumenis
Quantimetrica Ltd. is a company based in London, UK with a footprint also in San Francisco, California, Austin, Texas, USA and Athens, Greece. Quantimetrica specialises in voice recognition software and hardware which enables voice control of a variety of devices such as toys, wearables, cameras, and home or office automation products – all at low cost and without requiring an Internet connection! Applications to shipping cover surveillance, cyber-security and hands-free operation of security alarms or other equipment (e.g. emergency requests for help by immobilised crew). New applications emerge regularly as the markets become aware of Quantimetrica’s unique combination of powerful features, simplicity of use, wide applicability, and ease of integration.
Unlike most potential competitors, Quantimetrica’s solutions focus on:
- Powerful voice recognition, making it fun and more convenient to interact with controlled devices (see picture where any device with no further installation can be voice enabled by plugging it to the voice activated sockets shown – one under TV and one on the left);
- Small, affordable, low-power voice controllers which require no Internet connection and whose hardware specifications can be tailored to the price/functional needs of the controlled device;
- Easily updatable firmware to enable improvements on the user experience without additional capital costs and
- A cloud platform to collect data on the performance of the Quantimetrica solution and the controlled device, enabling iterative improvements in future versions.
Voice activated plugs in the living room; one under TV another to left
Quantimetrica’s advisory team comprises seasoned engineers such as Dr. David Tupman who developed several generations of iPod and iPhone products at Apple and who leads Quantimetrica’s technical advisory board; as well as Mr. Apostolos Lerios, a seasoned Silicon Valley entrepreneur who built Facebook’s infrastructure for image processing, and whose latest venture, Metanautix, a Big Data Analytics infrastructure startup funded by Sequoia Capital, was recently acquired by Microsoft.
Quantimetrica’s latest technical development includes a redesigned controller board which:
- Supports audio prompts and simple conversational/confirmation scripts for applications where the end-user should not activate the device by accident.
- Supports an external microphone, thus easing integration with and customisation by devices that already possess a microphone, or employ special-purpose microphones (under-water, far-range, etc.).
At its core, Quantimetrica’s mission is to help any device be controlled by voice, and thus create a more natural human interface. This is part of a broader industry trend evidenced both by existing commercial products such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s Siri, as well as research projects that will lead into future products, such as this example from the field of eldercare:
Although Quantimetrica’s current market focus is monitoring devices and toys, the company is actively exploring prototypes with partners. Quantimetrica welcomes inquiries by future partners who would like to add new communication capabilities to their devices, helping them catch up to the smart phone revolution, and ultimately broaden market reach and increase revenues.
For further information about Quantimetrica please visit www.quantimetrica.com or contact the company via email to info@quantimetrica.com.
