Dejima and Stanford University Make Interacting With Computers as Easy as Talking to People.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 2002

Technology Using Natural Language to Control Computer-based Appliances

Removes Barrier to Information for Disabled and Elderly People

Dejima, Inc., a developer of products that improve access to and use of wireless services and enterprise applications, and the Archimedes Project, a research group based at the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI) at Stanford University, today announced the release of the Natural Interaction Platform (NIP), an accessibility platform they jointly developed to allow people to control computer-based devices by speaking to them as they would to another person. Voice command of this rapidly proliferating class of information appliances, which includes Web browsers, smart appliances and wireless access systems, is easier for most users than keystroke commands. For the elderly, as well as other people with impaired vision or motor skills, NIP can make the difference between using such appliances and not being able to use them.

"When it comes to using today's technology, most of us are to a certain extent disabled," says Babak Hodjat, Dejima's chief technology officer, "Dejima and the Archimedes Project share the same vision, which is to empower all people, including those currently most conspicuously disenfranchised, to use technology and access information in ways that are most natural for them. Together, we have come up with a powerful, yet cost-effective solution."

NIP combines the Dejima Direct(TM) platform, which interprets a user's spoken input and subtle cues such as hand or facial gestures to determine the user's intent, with the Archimedes Project's Total Access System (TAS) software that provides a stand-alone standard interface for computer-based appliances. NIP allows the use of additional input and output modalities, such as speech, head tracking, and eye tracking, without affecting normal computer operation. This new solution means that it is no longer necessary for people to learn a set of specific commands to operate appliances since the NIP correctly interprets such input variants as "TV on," "Turn on the tele," or more complex ones such as "Get me the soccer game and record the news at 10."

"A good tool not only does the job but is easy to use," says Neil Scott, Project Leader and Chief Engineer of the Archimedes Project. "The problem with too many information appliances is that using them is anything but intuitive. Learning how to use them takes too long, their actual use is too complex, and, for elderly and disabled people, it's often impossible. What is unique about our accessibility platform is that it can empower everyone, regardless of individual needs, abilities, and preferences, to conveniently benefit from not only those appliances currently in our homes, schools, offices, and public places but also those under development and as yet to be imagined."

Development of NIP continues at Stanford University, as well as at a host of Archimedes Project's research affiliates in England, Ireland, New Zealand, and Japan. NIP is intended primarily for the aging and disability market, as well as general human-machine interaction challenges.

About Dejima, Inc.

Dejima, Inc. develops products that provide technology end-users with intuitive direct access to applications and services. By simplifying access and use of wireless services and enterprise applications, Dejima promotes increased and more effective use of services, along with increased revenue and cost savings for its licensees. Founded in 1998, with headquarters in San Jose, CA and offices in London, and Tokyo, the privately funded company includes among its backers Research In Motion, @ventures, Mitsubishi Corporation , Sonera Corporation, Omron, and InfoSpace. For more information on Dejima and its patented, direct access products, please visit http://www.dejima.com.

About The Archimedes Project

Established in 1992 at the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI), Stanford University, The Archimedes Project is a multidisciplinary group of researchers and product developers whose mission is to advance universal access to information and optimize the user experience with computer-based technology. Through its alliances with leading academic research centers and its own affiliates worldwide, it develops and brings to market innovative products designed to remove barriers to information access. For more information on The Archimedes Project, please visit http://archimedes.stanford.edu.