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One Voice shows off talking Web navigator 'IVAN'
by Margret Johnston, IDG News Service\Washington Bureau
November 14, 2000, 11:16

LAS VEGAS - If a talking Web navigator is what you've been waiting for to quicken your navigation of the Internet and make it a seem little more natural, software being demonstrated at Comdex might just fit the bill.

One Voice Technologies is showing a Web mascot called IVAN (intelligent voice animated navigator) who appears on the user's monitor and responds to spoken commands, like "I want to buy flowers," or "Get me a recipe for Beef Wellington." Just like a text-based search engine, IVAN retrieves Web sites that have the information, prioritizing them based on licensing deals that One Voice has signed with various sites.

The IVAN mascot, which looks like a small globe with a face, arms and legs, is included in the free client software that One Voice officials are handing out at Comdex. The software, also available for download from http://www.myivan.com, uses IBM's text-to-speech and voice recognition technology.

IVAN understands human language and identifies concepts, said Mark Strumwasser, vice president of sales for One Voice. The company has created a context-based searching technology called MultiSite, which runs on an Oracle Corp. database and is used by IVAN to find multiple Web sites for more than 100,000 concepts, Strumwasser said.

"It's a needle in a haystack on the Internet right now," Strumwasser said. "IVAN makes the experience more human by responding to the user's voice."

Comdex is the first major trade show at which the two-year-old company has had a major presence, Strumwasser said, adding that the company was being "hammered" by people seeking information about the product. Crowds several people deep confirmed a high level of interest as One Voice officials on a stage with a large screen behind them showed off IVAN's features.

The spoken commands that IVAN processes appear on the screen in text so the user can see what IVAN heard and correct it if necessary. He also bows when his name is called and can be turned off by telling him to stop listening.

One Voice recently signed partnership agreements with 140 Web sites, including Monster.com and Britannica.com, which have added VoiceSite, One Voice technology that enables voice interactivity at their sites. For example, at the Monster.com site job seekers can talk their way through finding a new job online, while IVAN asks questions to help them focus their search. At the Britannica site the software takes users to an appropriate entry in the encyclopedia when asked for information.

In addition to MultiSite database and VoiceSite technology, One Voice has created intelligent voice interactive technology (IVIT) to provide human voice understanding.

One Voice Technologies can be reached found on the Web at http://www.onevoicetech.com.