August 15, 2006
Wii Rumour: Headsets. Voice Recognition
According to a strengthening rumour gaining momentum right now, the Nintendo Wii will feature wireless headsets for communication as standard across all online play, with a voice-to-text conversion enabling users to censor the content to which they are subjected to by other users.
Stemming from a well-established board in the more right-wing areas of the online gaming world, a user who nailed the Wii-Mote speaker news months before the E3 announcement claims Nintendo will make the voice-to-text technology an absolute standard in all elements of Wii online, reflective of it's security-conscious stance towards gaming and communication over the Internet.
Posted by Michelle at 02:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 15, 2005
Need for speed: Rating thrills, spills of latest racing games: NASCAR 06 Total Team Control
More control: Voice-recognition allows you to give commands to your team through a USB headset (not included). Order the drivers to draft each other, to block for you - even get reprimanded for swearing! (The toggle switch on your controller works for commands, but that's too cumbersome.)
Posted by Michelle at 11:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 16, 2005
New electronic toys give control back to the children
The buzzword for hot electronic toys this season is "control."
In short, kids (of all ages) love stuff they can command with the touch of a button, the sounds of their voices and the music they play.
Increasingly sophisticated voice- and touch-recognition technology means that everything from fuzzy creatures to fearsome dinosaurs can respond to orders.
Posted by Michelle at 02:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2005
The Voice-Activated R2-D2
This motorized replica of the headstrong little droid from the Star Wars films responds to voice commands, navigates rooms and hallways, and makes any home feel like it has been transported to a galaxy far, far away. R2 obeys more than 40 voice commands ("Turn around!" "Move forward two units!") and he plays games like tag, using an infra-red sensor to search for people in a room. His sensor helps him follow behind you, or it can be set to detect motion, turning R2 into a room sentry that sounds an alarm when a secured area is invaded. R2's lights, swiveling dome top, and distinctive happy and sad sounds faithfully mimic the real thing, right down to his occasional "bad mood." (A simple command of, "R2, behave yourself!" snaps him out of it.) R2 can also replay sounds and dialog from "Star Wars" movies, answer yes-or-no questions, and dance while playing the famed cantina music.
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September 19, 2005
Sony PSP Talkman Accessory
Sony announces in Japan an new Sony PSP accessory. The Sony PSP Talkman is a microphone bundled with speech recognition software.
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September 11, 2005
Seaman Returns On PS2
One of Sega's stranger games of the last few years was the voice-recognition Dreamcast game Seaman. Originally released on Sega's ill-fated console back in 1999, Seaman was later ported to onto PlayStation 2 in Japan. We haven't heard from him since.
Now, 6 years after the original release, the fun-loving Seaman is receiving a proper sequel from developer Vivarium, and it's also headed to PS2. "In the last 20 years there really hasn't been much advancement in the user interface of games," says Vivarium president Satou Yutaka, "If we could just change the interface, I think games would get much more exciting and unique."
In the original Seaman, the bizarre pet human/fish learned by exclusively recognizing single words. With Seaman 2, however, the team has researched ways to have Seaman understand full sentences, ultimately leading to more human sounding speech patterns. The game will use the PS2 USB microphone, and you have some time to prepare; Vivarium and Sega won't be unleashing Seaman until next year.
Posted by Michelle at 12:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 01, 2005
NASCAR game promotes teamwork
Another video game incorporates some voice recognition: "NASCAR 06: Total Team Control".
A voice-recognition headset can be used to issue the on-track commands (including some that can only be accessed with a headset), but we suggest you do this when nobody's around ro risk getting caught acting like a dork.
Posted by Michelle at 04:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 27, 2005
Sony targets big boys with all-singing and dancing games gadget
Initially, about 19 movies will be available on UMD [the mini-DVD format for the Sony PSP], including Spiderman2 and Ghostbusters. By Christmas, there will be about 50. Future software for the PSP includes a conversion kit to turn it into a satellite navigation device, and TalkMan--a Star Trek-style voice recognition programme that translates a phrase into another language and says it out loud.
Posted by Michelle at 11:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
A Doll That Can Recognize Voices, Identify Objects and Show Emotion
Judy Shackelford, who has been in the toy industry for more than 40 years, has seen a lot of dolls. But none, she says, like her latest creation, a marvel of digital technologies, including speech-recognition and memory chips, radio frequency tags and scanners, and facial robotics. She and her team have christened it Amazing Amanda.
Posted by Michelle at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 25, 2005
RPGamer
RPGamer has a critique of the voice recognition feature on the Nintendo DS.
Our writer is calling attention to the fact that in Lunar: Dragon Song, you have to yell "escape" in order to get your party to run from battle. Now, I'm wondering if the "escape" sound is something that you can set in game options, because in the heat of battle I wouldn't be one to yell "ESCAPE!"...
Posted by Michelle at 03:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Furby has "evolved", but it still won't help clean your room
Now Furby is back, and it has "evolved." Bigger, and with six times the memory, Furby also is more lively, thanks to advanced voice recognition and new robotic technology Hasbro calls Emototronics. The beast now can "listen" to you and respond based on its "mood," talking and moving its eyes, eyebrows, ears and beak.
Posted by Michelle at 03:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 22, 2005
Nintendogs: Chihuahua and Friends
Once you get your dog home, you'll be able to name it using the game's voice-recognition software, repeating it a few times until your pooch "learns" his or her name. After an initial adjustment period in which you'll shower your new puppy with attention, you can begin training it. As a puppy performs an action it can learn as a trick, a lightbulb icon appears in the corner of the screen. Quickly tapping this icon lets you record a command to associate with that action--for example, linking the word "sit" to when the dog sits down. Then it's a matter of associating that same word with the same action multiple times, until your puppy learns the trick.
Posted by Michelle at 02:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
Hand-to-hand combat
Looks like Lucas' vision (see previous story) will start to be realized sooner than he thinks. This article about the future of the PlayStation Portable includes a mention of an upcoming voice controlled game:
Nintendo's latest pet project will make everyone sit up and beg for more. It's an adorable virtual pet simulator with lifelike puppies. Users can interact with pooches by touch or voice commands, training their dog and teaching tricks. Activities include dog championships, Frisbee throwing, walking and bathing.
Posted by Michelle at 08:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Lucas looks to game AI
Star Wars creator and "Father of Digital Cinema" George Lucas has been chatting away at a recent conference held in LA, waxing lyrical on gaming technology at the annual computer graphics and interactive entertainment expo, at which he delivered a keynote speech on game artificial intelligence. Lucas commented during the address that he hopes games can evolve "to a point where you can talk to the game and it will talk back." He spoke of the importance of voice recognition, and a vast leap looming in AI capabilities.
Posted by Michelle at 07:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack