Pioneering Developer of Voicetech for Kids Launches First-of-a-Kind Features for Children's Toy & Game Developers

DUBLIN, May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SoapBox Labs, pioneering developer of accurate, safe, and secure voice technology for kids, today unveiled new features that give kids a more natural and frictionless way to interact with games, apps, and smart toys using their voices. These new features include Voice Activity Detection (VAD) and Custom Wakeword, which exist for adults but until now have not been developed for children, who have unique speech patterns, behaviors, environments and privacy needs.

"We're transforming how children of all ages and accents interact with technology," said SoapBox Labs CEO Dr. Martyn Farrows. "Our consumer-focused clients are always looking to offer more immersive and natural play experiences to kids while ensuring their privacy is protected. New voice features like these are the answer."

The release of these new features comes as adoption of the company's purpose-built voice technology accelerates in the consumer market thanks to the development of custom solutions that allow kids to interact using their voices, whether they're playing with digital or physical toys. VAD automatically detects when a child begins to speak and only then does the voice technology begin processing and analyzing their voice data. Custom Wakeword allows a child to activate a dormant device using a custom word or phrase.

In the wake of the COVID pandemic, a growing number of toy, app, and game developers are rethinking the interface between children and technology. Voice technology can, for example, enhance the experience for a child of using a popular augmented reality (AR) game like Pokemon Go. By adding voice you remove the need for countless button presses that interrupt the play experience. With voice, a child only needs to speak to guide their play in a more fluid and authentic way. Voice-driven experiences also increase accessibility to technology for younger children who are still building their fine motor skills.

"SoapBox prides itself on solutions that are easy to integrate and that keep accuracy and privacy at the forefront of a high-performance experience for kids," said SoapBox Labs Founder and Executive Chair Dr. Patricia Scanlon. "Importantly, we also offer clients the flexibility to deliver these experiences on-device or in physical toys using embedded chips."

In 2021 SoapBox is making significant new investments in each of its two core offerings: "SoapBox Educate" and "SoapBox Play." SoapBox Educate already leads in the edtech market with solutions that voice-enable literacy, language learning, dyslexia screening, and speech therapy products, while SoapBox Play focuses on voice-enabling children's games, toys, and entertainment applications for the home and consumer market.

About SoapBox Labs
SoapBox Labs is on a mission to radically transform how kids interact with technology using their voices. Our low-code, independent and proprietary technology delivers high accuracy for kids ages 2-12 of all accents and dialects.

The SoapBox voice engine has been built using a privacy-by-design approach, and protecting kids' fundamental right to voice data privacy is a cornerstone of our company mission and philosophy.

SoapBox Labs leverages the same underlying voice engine to address our two core market offerings:

• SoapBox Educate voice enables products and platforms in the EdTech market for screening, practice, intervention, and assessment of literacy and language learning.
• SoapBox Play voice-enables third-party games, toys, and entertainment applications for the home and consumer markets.

SOURCE SoapBox Labs

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