Voice recognition

The Spark amp from Positive Grid is paired with a voice-activated mobile app that opens the door to real-time practice and learning tools, and allows players to jam along to tracks from streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.

After flagging the feature earlier in the year, Amazon has now introduced multi-lingual functionality for its Alexa voice assistant.

Amazon revealed its second generation Fire TV Cube promising enhanced and faster voice command systems plus more HDR support.

​Not long ago, if you told someone there was a device that allowed your spoken words to instantly be heard in another language, they might not believe you. Well, there are now several such gadgets available, and we recently tried out a unique new model – Misway Technology's Smark two-way translator.

​As Amazon targets children with the release of its Echo Dot Kids Edition, concerns are being raised over the effects voice assistants could be having on children. Is teaching kids how to politely command Alexa enough, or are there long-term developmental consequences to children using such devices?

A few days ago, at Google's annual I/O developer conference, the search giant revealed a new AI system called Duplex. It can book appointments for you by carrying out natural conversations over the phone, but what happens when a company makes a computer system sound too human?

Matrix Labs has created a Raspberry Pi-compatible Internet-of-Things development board with built-in microphones that can bring custom voice recognition smarts to any maker project. And following a successful crowdfunding effort on Indiegogo last year, the Matrix Voice is now on general release.​

In-car voice-control has come a long way in recent times, but many of us would agree that there's room for improvement. Bosch is aiming to do just that with a multilingual voice assist system that it claims can respond to natural language ... and you can call it whatever name you like.

New York-based Vinci is looking to forge a more independent path for its latest headphones, which pack their own self-contained minicomputer with 3G, Wi-Fi, voice-control, and fitness tracking, all of which means they need no external smartphone to function.

​The Alexa voice assistant seems to be pretty much everywhere these days – in Amazon's own Bluetooth speakers, living inside fancy lamps, or helping smartphone users cope with their busy lives. Now the company's business arm has unveiled plans to get Alexa into the workplace.​

Sony Mobile has announced a Japan-only launch for its family entertainment and comms hub, the Xperia Hello! communications robot. More than a mere smart speaker, Sony wants users to think of it as a member of the family.

While our voices are increasingly being used for biometric identification, they're not an infallible form of ID. It was with this in mind that researchers at the University of Michigan created VAuth ("vee-auth"), which adds an extra level of security to the technology.