Monday, January 12, 2015

Facebook Puts Its Money Where Your Mouth Is @sciam Tech podcast by @lggreenemeier

The social media behemoth buys voice-recognition startup Wit.ai to prepare for the impending Internet-of-Things. Larry Greenemeier reports. January 12, 2015 | |

Chatter about the is filling the air at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. And the long-sought holy grail of ubiquitous really will eventually happen. Soon people will, as a matter of course, communicate with their cars, homes, appliances and gadgets by speaking instead of typing. And Facebook has seen—or maybe heard—the writing on the wall.So the social media giant bought an 18-month-old startup company called . Wit developed a plug-in code that lets software developers easily build speech-recognition into their products. Of course that let you post to your Facebook feed without having to take your eyes off the road or sidewalk. But on the horizon are voice commands to search your Facebook feed or even voice recognition to log on to your account.Wit says its software will remain open source. But for Facebook to have the company in house gives it access to the tools needed to keep up with tech powerhouses such as Apple and Google, which have been offering voice recognition for years.Wit might also be part of Facebook’s virtual reality strategy, which got a big boost last year when the company bought Oculus Rift. After all, how many of us are expert enough typists to hit the right keys with a visor covering our eyes?—Larry Greenemeier


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