ArialPhone Corp. Introduces New Wearable, Wireless Earset Communications Device to Simplify Phone Calling for Disabled Market.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers Hands-Free Phone Leverages Voice Recognition Technology to Benefit Quadriplegics, Paraplegics, Parkinson's Patients and Others With Limited Mobility ArialPhone Corp., of Mundelein, today introduced a new wearable, wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. device designed specifically to make phone calling more convenient for quadriplegics, paraplegics, Parkinson's disease patients Famous people, past and present, with Parkinson's include: Living
The new hands-free, voice-activated telephone communications product was on display at the 25th International Conference on Technology and Disability, June 29-30 in Minneapolis. The ArialPhone system comes packaged with add-on software that gives users the ability to use the device as a wireless microphone A wireless microphone, as the name implies, is a microphone without a physical cable connecting it directly to the sound recording or amplifying equipment with which it is associated. for Internet calling See Internet telephony. and other applications that accept microphone input, including speech recognition software such as Dragon Systems' Naturally Speaking and IBM's ViaVoice. Place Calls Through Simple Voice Commands ArialPhone facilitates telephone communications for the disabled community by allowing users to place phone calls simply by saying a person's name or phone number. This is accomplished through a patented, hands-free Earset design that leverages voice recognition technology and works in conjunction with the user's existing PC. For easy operation, ArialPhone is set up to accept wiring for a wide variety of external switches designed for disabled users, including pillow switches, sensitive switches, soft switches and strong switches. The product enables users to perform automated functions such as voice dialing by name, answering calls, and other telephone operations from anywhere in the home or office. "ArialPhone introduces a new level of phone calling convenience to the disabled community, with both features and pricing that are far better than other solutions on the market," said Mike Wagener, president of ArialPhone Corp. "Although the first applications are based around telephone communications, future applications will enable voice control of digital entertainment and other home automation functions, such as changing TV channels; recording TV programs; controlling digital music players Hardware or software that plays audio files encoded in MP3, AAC, WMA or other audio formats. There are several software-based music players that play audio files in a desktop or laptop computer, including iTunes, RealPlayer and Windows Media Player. , set top boxes and cable modems cable modem Modem used to convert analog data signals to digital form and vise versa, for transmission or receipt over cable television lines, especially for connecting to the Internet. ; and even turning lights off and on." Easy, Comfortable Operation ArialPhone consists of a 1 oz. wearable Earset, voice-dialing software and a base station, which is attached to both a PC and an analog phone The original telephone technology, which converts air vibrations into an analogous electrical frequency. Unless a key telephone system, digital PBX or voice over IP (VoIP) is used, most homes and small offices still use analog phones, and the local loop is mostly analog. line. Operation is simple: the user activates the external switch of their choice to alert the ArialPhone base station to listen for voice commands, such as "call John Smith at work." These commands prompt ArialPhone to access the user's PC contact management directory, and then place calls as directed. In contrast to many bulky bulk·y adj. bulk·i·er, bulk·i·est 1. Having considerable bulk; massive. 2. Of large size for its weight: a bulky knit. 3. Clumsy to manage; unwieldy. over-the-head phone headsets, ArialPhone's sleek, lightweight Earset attaches easily to the ear via a comfortable, ergonomically designed hook that can be worn all day. And while many wireless devices used in the home or office have a limited range and poor voice quality, ArialPhone offers top-quality communications within a 150-ft. to 300-ft. range -- even through walls. Easy "Out of the Box" Installation and Functionality ArialPhone requires no customization and is ready to use "out of the box." Incorporating speaker-independent voice recognition technology, it enables the use of intuitive and natural language-based commands, eliminating the need for any voice training prior to operation. The device accesses PC-resident contact management systems, such as ACT!, Outlook and Outlook Express, via a dynamic interface. Installation is simple: the base station connects with the user's PC via a Universal Serial Bus See USB. (hardware, standard) Universal Serial Bus - (USB) An external peripheral interface standard for communication between a computer and external peripherals over an inexpensive cable using biserial transmission. (USB USB in full Universal Serial Bus Type of serial bus that allows peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, digitizers, data gloves, etc.) to be easily connected to a computer. ) interface and with the telephone system through a standard phone jack. The Earset communicates with the base station via a 900MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. digital spread spectrum radio frequency link. Pricing and Availability Priced at $399, the specialized version of ArialPhone designed for the disabled market is now available and can be purchased through leading assistive technologies Hardware and software that help people who are physically impaired. Often called "accessibility options" when referring to enhancements for using the computer, the entire field of assistive technology is quite vast and even includes ramp and doorway construction in buildings to support dealers across the country or directly from the company. The pricing includes the complete system with base station, Earset and voice-dialing software, along with accommodations for easily attaching external switches. Also included is ArialPhone's wireless microphone software. About ArialPhone Corp. ArialPhone Corp., launched in January 2001, is a provider of wireless communications devices and voice-enabling software applications. The company's flagship product A primary product of a company, which is typically why the company was founded and/or what made it well known. For example, MS-DOS, Windows and the Microsoft Office suite have been flagship products of Microsoft. CorelDRAW is a flagship product of Corel Corporation. , ArialPhone, combines wireless and voice recognition technology in a sleek, patented Earset design that improves standard telephone calling processes while also allowing wireless voice computer input for dictation, Internet calling, and other third party voice recognition functions. It can be integrated with the most popular digital PBXs (digital Private Branch Exchange) A modern PBX that uses digital methods for switching in contrast to older PBXs that use analog methods. , and now supports an expanded group of contact management systems such as ACT!, Outlook and Outlook Express. Privately held, ArialPhone Corp. is headquartered near Chicago in Mundelein. For more information, visit www.arialphone.com, or contact the company's headquarters at 104 Terrace Dr., Mundelein, Ill. 60060. Phone: 847/949-3173. E-mail: info@arialphone.com. ArialPhone and ArialPhone Corp. are trademarks of ArialPhone Corp. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are property of their respective holders. |
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