Audioburst launches a web and mobile search engine for audio news
Audio
is beginning to play an increasingly important role in how consumers connect with
information, thanks to the popularity of podcasts and other short-form audio
programming, improvements in voice technologies, and the growing consumer
adoption of smart home devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Today, a
company called Audioburst
is unveiling a new search engine designed to connect you to the information
found in audio content from podcasts and programs aired on the radio.
Tel
Aviv-based Audioburst,
which also has staff in New York and Palo Alto, has been developing its
technology for an audio search engine and content library over the past two
years.
The
idea is that much of the information arising from daily news programs or
topical podcasts – or even TV news – is not available in an organized,
searchable fashion. It’s broadcast over the radio, and then it largely
disappears; or it’s only heard by those who subscribe and then listen to a
particular episode of a podcast series, for example.
The
larger goal is to make this sort of audio content available across platforms –
including from Audioburst’s own search engine; major search engines like Google
and Bing; from smart assistant apps, like Google Assistant; and from voice
platforms like the Alexa-powered Echo speakers and Google Home.
Audioburst
had previously rolled out its Google Assistant integration, its “News
Feed” skill for smart devices, and developer API. Now, the
company is unveiling Audioburst
Search, a web and mobile-optimized search engine that helps you find,
discover, and listen to audio news.
The
product works by ingesting audio content from a number of sources. In some
cases, Audioburst is proactively scouring the web for available live streams to
import. However, the company is largely focused on partnership deals with radio
stations, radio programs, and podcasters. It’s also starting to venture into
the TV space, with plans to index TV news, and is chatting with a small handful
of auto manufacturers about integrating Audioburst into their own in-car
entertainment systems.
To
make audio content searchable, the company pulls in millions of audio segments
daily from now over 1,000 sources. While it’s not disclosing a full list of
partners, if you look in its search results, you’ll find that it’s indexing the
likes of Bloomberg Radio and some Fox radio programs, numerous radio stations,
as well as a lot of podcasts, particularly in the tech space.
After
ingesting the audio, Audioburst leverages technologies like A.I. and natural
language processing to understand not just what’s being discussed, but also the
context.
It
also doesn’t only match users’ search queries to those exact same words when spoken,
either. For example, it knows that someone speaking about the “president” in a
program about U.S. politics was referring to “Donald Trump,” even if they
didn’t use his name.
The
audio content is then tagged and organized in a way that computers understand,
making it searchable. And it’s broken into smaller sections – clips it calls
“bursts” – which Audioburst identifies by understanding when the audio changes.
It
can identify when an ad break starts, when there are station breaks, when a new
speaker joins, when there are pauses, and other signals that tell it when to
start and end an audio clip – a process that all happens automatically.
This
allows its search engine to not just point you to a program or show where a
topic was discussed, but the specific
segment within that show where that discussion took place. (If you choose, you
can then listen to the full show, as the content is linked to the source.)
As
the technology is further developed, its ability to understand consumers’
personal preferences will be improved. For example, if you’re a fan of a
particular sports team, and they won their last game, you might hear audio
content featuring more praise and cheering from the commentators; but if your
team lost, the news returned may have a less emotional tone.
Audioburst
isn’t there yet – it’s only beginning this process of understanding listener
behavior. But in the long-term, the company believes this would pave the way to
things like personalized audio advertisements, alongside a daily news briefing,
for example. It may also choose to generate revenue through more traditional
methods, like sponsorships and promoted content. Revenue would be shared with
the audio content’s producers.
But
these are goals that are still a year or two out, we understand.
While
the startup is making its technology available across platforms – web, mobile,
and one day, cars, it sees potential in the voice-powered smart device market,
in particular.
“Of
course, voice assistants and smart speakers are the natural interfaces to use
our library, because it’s all about voice,” explains Assaf Gad, VP Marketing
and Strategic Partnerships at Audioburst.
“It
allows you to ask a question and get a result. Instead of Alexa reading it out
loud to you in her voice, you can get the actual speaker,” he says, noting that
audio could come directly from a public figure’s sound bite or the host of the
audio program itself. “It’s a more human voice,” Gad adds.
The
company recently closed on a $6.7 million round of funding led by Japanese speech
recognition tech company Advanced Media to further develop its underlying
technology and its consumer-facing products.
Its
audio search engine, Audioburst Search, is live on web and mobile
here.
Source | https://search.audioburst.com/
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior Manager @
Knowledge Repository
Khaitan
& Co
Upcoming Lecture | ACTREC - BOSLA Annual lecture series (125th birth anniversary of father of library
science, Padmashree Dr. S. R. Ranganathan) on Saturday, 12th August 2017 at Advanced Centre for Treatment,
Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. (Theme | 'MakerSpace')
Twitter
Handle | @Pralhad161978
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