Talking washing machine puts CeBIT in a spin

A prototype on display at the CeBIT trade show this week could pave the way to a range of home electrical devices that respond to voice commands.

At the world's largest ICT show, the German company Speech Experts is demonstrating a talking washing machine with voice recognition capabilities.

Called Hermine, the device is still being developed in partnership with Siemens, but Speech Experts believes that a commercial model could be in stores as early as 2004 - if its prototype proves popular enough.

Hermine is designed to help people who are foxed by the complexity of modern washing machines, with their wide variety of programme types. Speech Experts demonstrated on Wednesday that when a user told Hermine what clothes they needed to clean, it could tell how they should be washed.

Hermine could also be programmed by voice - understanding commands such as "pre-wash," "press wash cycle at 60 degrees Celsius," or "wait 30 minutes before starting."

Speech Experts has also tried to give Hermine something of a personality. When told that a certain garment has been stained with red wine, it responds by recommending beer in future - as beer stains are easier to remove. Upon being told that some nappies had to be washed, the electronic washing machine emitted an anguished yelp.

This version of Hermine can has a vocabulary of several hundred German words, but Speech Experts explained that a future version could understand up to 4,000 words, in several languages.

Dr Angelika Salmen, chief executive of Speech Experts, said that the technology could be applied to other home appliances, but that a voice-enabled washing machine was of much more value to users than a voice-enabled toaster, for example.

"It depends on what kind of service you can provide. If it's a difficult process, then it's possible to design a machine that can help [by understanding voice commands]," Dr Salmen explained.

Dr Salmen added that the commercial future of Hermine depended in part on the reception that the device gets this week.

"We're checking the commercial reaction at CeBIT, and the final decision is with Siemens," Dr Salmen said, adding that in a best-case scenario commercial models could be on sale in a year's time.

Future versions of Hermine could also include internet connectivity, making system updates easier.

The model on display at CeBIT received voice commands via a headset and 'spoke' through a separate loudspeaker. Speech Experts said, though, that any commercial version would have an integrated microphone and speakers.

Graeme Wearden writes for ZDNet UK