Apple has acquired in the United Kingdom the Startup of voice technology VocalIQ, according to a report by 'Financial Times'. A spokesperson for the Cupertino company has confirmed the purchase where in a statement it says that "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and usually does not talk about our future purpose or plans."
But it's not hard to imagine what Apple has in store for such VocalIQ technology. The company uses the learning machine to construct virtual conversation assistants similar to those seen in movies like Iron Man. Apple has long been interested in this space, as demonstrated by the introduction of Siri in 2011.
While VocalIQ's machine and speech processing learning technology could be incorporated into home devices, the company has focused primarily on automotive applications. This included a collaboration with General Motors. VocalIQ described itself as a "conversational dialogue voice system" (a bit convoluted), and this in-car navigation system could prevent the driver from being distracted by looking at screens. Its self-learning technology allows a real conversation between the human being and everything that is connected to the internet, as VocalIQ says.
Perhaps even more interesting is that VocalIQ in the past I know associated with General Motors and other manufacturers to implement their voice technology in vehicles. Apple currently offers an automotive platform known as Carplay, and rumor has it that he is working on an electric car, the great 'Titan Project' from Apple.