OmniSpeech OmniClear™ Speech Extraction and Noise Suppression Technology Released in Alcatel's MOVE TIME Smart Watch

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OmniSpeech LLC, a company that delivers superior voice quality in communication devices through its proprietary speech enhancement and noise reduction software, announces today that its OmniClear^TM technology is included in the latest Alcatel MOVE TIME smart watch.

The MOVE TIME smart watch is the latest in Alcatel's lineup of wearable devices that make life easier for active people. In addition to fitness tracking, email and SMS functionality, the watch enables users to make and receive phone calls directly from the device. That's where OmniSpeech comes in.

"The wearable team performed extensive evaluations and trials of noise suppression solutions and determined that OmniClear is by far the best option in the business of voice clarity and echo cancelation," said Steve Cistulli, President and General Manager for TCL Communication (TCT), North America.   "We are pleased to bring this innovative solution to market on the Move Time smartwatch, which was first released in Europe on 27 May 2017."

"We are pleased to see our technology employed in Alcatel's MOVE TIME smartwatch to enable high-quality voice communications," says OmniSpeech Founder Carol Espy-Wilson.  "And our partnership with Alcatel is just a start.  It's just the tip of an iceberg.  Why?  Because we fundamentally believe that we have a technology that can add significant, game-changing performance value to every phone, hearing aid, computer and car in the world!"

"Our distinct, single-microphone OmniClear^TM software reduces dynamic noise in communication devices, performing on par with competing dual-mic solutions. In addition to enhancing speech, OmniClear^TM lowers the volume of noise, which is often distorted by other solutions. These advantages come from our proprietary technology, which leverages decades of research on speech production, acoustics and perception."

The OmniClear^TM software focuses on speech first.

"Our algorithm knows what speech looks like. It has specific characteristics," Espy-Wilson explains. "We use subtraction techniques and what is special about speech to recognize the speech signal and reduce everything that is not speech."

OmniSpeech's technology was developed at the University of Maryland by Espy-Wilson, a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering and the Institute for Systems Research. OmniSpeech licensed the technology from the university.

Research leading to the development and improvement of OmniSpeech's technology was supported by: three National Science Foundation, Small Business Innovation Research, grants totaling $1 million; a phase I Small Business Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, grant for $224,000; a $5,000 TEDCO Techstart Grant; a $50,000 SAIC VentureAccelerator Award;  $75,000 from TEDCO's Maryland Technology Transfer and Commercialization Fund (MTTCF); and a $135,000 Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program project award.

OmniSpeech also raised $2.5 million in angel investment funding to further develop both its product and the company, which now employs seven people full-time.

Espy-Wilson received an Invention of the Year Award from the University of Maryland Office of Technology Commercialization for her speech enhancement technology.

OmniSpeech has also developed a dual-microphone version of OmniClear^TM, which yields even better voice quality in communication devices. The MOVE TIME smartwatch is a single-microphone device.

Alcatel is a mobile device brand of TCL Communication.

About OmniSpeech, LLC

OmniSpeech www.omni-speech.com is a software company that has developed an innovative speech extraction technology, called OmniClear^TM, to solve the problem of noise and enhance vocal quality for communication devices. OmniClear^TM is an ideal solution for mobile products, hearing aids, public safety digital radios, and smart devices powered by the "Internet of Things," which will make voice clarity, activation and instruction even more important in the future.

Contact: Carol Espy-Wilson, [email protected], (301) 405-7411

SOURCE OmniSpeech

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http://omni-speech.com