Nuance Communications and VoiceBox Technologies to Collaborate on Next-Gen Voice Navigation Solutions

Companies Team to Simplify and Advance Navigation for Consumers; Efforts Aimed Initially at Personal Navigation Devices
2007 International CES

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nuance Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leading supplier of speech and imaging solutions, and VoiceBox® Technologies Inc., the leading innovator in conversational voice search, announced a joint initiative to develop advanced voice navigation applications for the personal navigation device (PND), automotive and mobile markets. The companies’ collective goal is to develop and deliver a voice-user experience so accurate and intuitive that it further enhances the way people use navigation devices, no matter where they choose to use them.

Nuance and VoiceBox are collaborating on applications that combine Nuance’s market-leading speech technology and natural language suite with VoiceBox’s conversational voice search processes, which garner high accuracy and task completion by recognizing context and intent from free-form speech, to deliver new and advanced PND functionality. The initiative underscores how conversational voice interfaces have become a simple and more direct way to access the broad range of information and features available on today’s navigation systems, including music and media, hands-free dialing, points of interest, address entry, turn-by-turn directions and map control.

“Users of navigation systems feel overwhelmed and confused when confronted with existing user interfaces,” said Mike Kennewick, co-founder, chairman and CEO at VoiceBox. “Our conversational voice-search capabilities will help demystify the powers of navigation. Nuance has the background and products that will help create the best user experience yet; together we can change the way consumers use navigation forever.”

“Nuance’s speech innovations and deep expertise in embedded applications are an ideal complement to VoiceBox’s achievements in navigation, music and hands-free dialing,” said Steve Chambers, president of the Speech Solutions Division at Nuance. “Our combined efforts have proven effective in noisy situations and can solve real consumer problems. Having free-form conversational access to things like address entry, points of interests and favorite places, together we can make navigation systems truly personal for users.”

The Nuance and VoiceBox collaboration is intended to provide manufacturers with the ability and flexibility to quickly deploy advanced, multidimensional speech recognition technology on PNDs, embedded telematics and mobile markets, providing easy adoption of the simplified, accurate and intuitive voice-user experience that will bring superior performance to their customers.

About Nuance Communications

Nuance is a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for business and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications, and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share, and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Nuance and the Nuance logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

About VoiceBox Technologies

VoiceBox develops Conversational Voice Search™ software, offering a best-in-class voice-user experience for searching and accessing digital content that takes full advantage of broadband, wired and wireless networks. VoiceBox merges speech expertise with deep information management experience to create innovative voice-search solutions. Incorporated in 2001, the privately held company’s patent-pending Voice Search processes are applied across telematics and infotainment, music and entertainment, navigation, mobile and VoIP markets. Visit http://www.voicebox.com.