How it Works

Technology that listens

  1. 1. Listening

    ivee is smart. So smart, she understands you the first time she hears your voice.

    To start, say "hello ivee" She'll greet you, then ask for a command.

    Now you can say, for example, "Set Alarm 1"

    Iv Howitworks Listening Image

  2. 2. Conversion

    ivee converts the sound of you speaking into digital audio data (similar to a CD or MP3).

    This A2D (Analog-to-Digital) conversion also filters out ambient noise, like the sound of an air conditioner or other people talking.

    Unlike many speech recognition devices, ivee doesn't need a perfectly quiet room to understand you.

    Iv Howitworks Conversion Image

  3. 3. Build

    ivee analyzes the digital signal, looking for "phonemes." A phoneme is a sound that makes up part of a word. Just as letters together make up how a word is written, phonemes together make up how a word sounds.

    For example, "alarm" would have the phonemes of "uh," "ll," "ah," "r," and "m."

    Iv Howitworks Build Image

  4. 4. Compare

    The phonemes ivee hears are compared to a grammar list. Using what's called a "Hidden Markov model," ivee determines the most probable word given the phonemes you spoke.

    In our example, this means understanding "uh," "ll," "ah," "r," and "m" are likely "Alarm."

    Iv Howitworks Compare Image

  5. 5. Parsing

    Based on the phonemes, ivee decides what words you spoke. These words are then analyzed for meaning.

    This process, called parsing, helps ivee figure out what you're asking her to do.

    Iv Howitworks Parsing Image

  6. 6. Action

    Having determined what you're asking, ivee responds.

    All of this in just a fraction of a second.

    Iv Howitworks Action Image

Natural Language Processor

ivee is equipped with three sophisticated speech recognition technologies.

NTS - Natural Time Set

Natural Time Set allows you to say the actual or alarm time naturally, as if you were speaking to a person.

  • You say:
  • Hello ivee
  • Set Alarm 1
  • Seven o'Clock AM
  • ivee says:
  • Say a command
  • Please tell me the alarm time
  • Alarm 1 is set to 7:00 AM

NDS - Natural Date Set

No fiddling with buttons to set the date either. Just ask ivee, and she'll do it all by voice.

  • You say:
  • Hello ivee
  • Settings
  • Set Date
  • January 23, 2008
  • ivee says:
  • Say a command
  • Please choose from...
  • Please tell me today's date

NSS - Natural Station Set

ivee Flex lets you tune the radio just by saying the frequency.

  • You say:
  • Hello ivee
  • Set Radio
  • One-Oh-Two point Seven FM
  • ivee says:
  • Say a command
  • What station please
  • Playing 102.7 FM

THFT - Truly Hands-Free Trigger

Most speech recognition devices require you to press a button for them to work. ivee, on the other hand, is always listening. She waits patiently for you to say "hello ivee" then she'll help you with what you need.

WS - Word Spotting

Less powerful speech recognition products are confused by background noise like music or other people talking. Even though we recommend using ivee in a quieter environment, ivee's NLP has robust ambient noise rejection. Her word spotting technology grabs your command right out of the air. Be careful, she may hear you when you’re talking about her. Learn more about how ivee’s speech recognition works.