This is the first overview of the voice user interface landscape in Switzerland
The adoption and use of voice user interfaces have increased significantly in recent years. Voice user interfaces such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant are leading to changes in customer behavior and a multitude of new touchpoints within the customer journey. The Voice Map Switzerland provides an initial, in-depth overview of the voice user interface landscape in Switzerland and highlights various examples of Swiss institutions and companies with a direct connection to voice user interfaces.
Speaking is one of the most natural, fastest and easiest forms of interaction for us humans. According to a study by Stanford University, voice input by a user is three times faster than the
input via a smartphone keyboard. In addition, the cognitive load is lower when speaking than when typing and the operation of digital devices is easier and more convenient in certain situations - for example, when users cannot or do not want to look at a display or the situation does not permit physical operation.
Voice User Interfaces on the rise
The use of voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant has increased significantly over the last two years in the USA and in various European countries. The strong increase in use is due not least to the high availability of devices with voice assistants as well as technological progress and improved voice recognition and processing. It is estimated that there are over two billion devices worldwide with which voice assistants can be used. According to Voicebot, over 25 percent of households in the US own a smart speaker, over 20 percent in the UK and over 10 percent in Germany.
According to a study by the University of Lucerne and the Farner agency, 37 percent of Swiss people were already using voice control on their smartphones, computers or smart speakers at the end of 2018.
Changing customer behavior
The increasing spread and use of voice user interfaces such as voice assistants is leading to changes in customer behavior and a variety of new touchpoints within the customer journey. By using voice technologies, companies can not only extend existing digital channels (e.g., website, mobile app, call center), but also create new touchpoints on new digital channels (for example, voice app for voice assistant).
First overview of the voice user interface landscape in Switzerland
The Voice Map Switzerland provides an in-depth overview of the voice user interface landscape in Switzerland. The aim of the Voice Map Switzerland is to create transparency on the developments in the field of Voice User Interfaces in Switzerland. It shows examples of companies and institutions that already offer voice services or the necessary technology, conduct research in the field, dare to experiment with voice user interfaces or provide practical knowledge. The companies and institutions listed in the Voice Map Switzerland were defined based on a survey of voice experts and desk research.
Regular updating
The first Voice Map Switzerland is published as a beta version, based on the assumption that there are more companies and institutions in Switzerland related to Voice User Interfaces. In the future, the Voice Map Switzerland will be updated at regular intervals and supplemented with further examples of companies and institutions.
The Voice Map Switzerland is created in collaboration with the Institute for Digital Business at the Zurich School of Economics and the Voice Meetup Switzerland.
Voice Map Switzerland - Projects and Links
Voice Assistants Apps
- AZ Media
- The Alexa Skills Radio24 News and Argovia News can be used to access the news from Radio 24 and Radio Argovia.
- Bring.
- The Bring Shopping List can be used via a Google Action with Google Assistant and a Skill with Amazon Alexa. The iOS app is compatible with Siri voice control.
- Radio Energy
- With the Radio Energy Skill you can listen to the 50 Energy stations, play the news and check the currently played songs.
- Source: https://www.amazon.de/Energy-Schweiz-AG-Radio/dp/B07F19XPZ7
- Swiss Radio and Television (SRF)
- Various SRF content can be used via Google Actions for Google Assistant and Actions for Amazon Alexa.
- Available Google Actions: SRF Meteo, SRF Radio Weather, SRF News, SRF Audio, SRF News, SRF Sportflash, 100 Seconds of Knowledge, Echo of Time
- Swiss
- Swiss enables its customers to check in for their flight using voice input via Google Assistant.
- Tamedia
- The most important news from various newspapers can be accessed via Google Actions (available Google Actions: Tages-Anzeiger, Berner Zeitung, Basler Zeitung, Der Bund). The news of the Tages-Anzeiger are also available as an Amazon Alexa Skill.
- Zermatt Tourism
- Since August 2019, there is an Amazon Echo device with an Alexa Skill in the counter hall of Zermatt Tourism that can answer questions from guests (examples: "What can I do in Zermatt? " or "Which restaurant do you recommend? ").
Voice in Products & Services
- Swisscom
- Since April 2016, Swisscom TV customers have been able to use voice control to switch to shows (e.g., by channel, movie, series, genre or actor) and operate their TV set. The Smart Remote with microphone button also understands Swiss German.
- Sources: Voice Meetup Switzerland, August 2019; https://www.swisscom.ch/de/privatkunden/abos-tarife/inone-home/digital-tv.html
- Since April 2016, Swisscom TV customers have been able to use voice control to switch to shows (e.g., by channel, movie, series, genre or actor) and operate their TV set. The Smart Remote with microphone button also understands Swiss German.
- UPC
- Various voice functions are available to customers via the UPC TV Box remote control. Customers can use voice commands to search for content (e.g., movies & series, actors, genres, topics, channels), change channels, and call up menu items and applications.
- Quickline
- Via the remote control of the Quickline TV box, customers have access to a voice search function that allows them to search for programs, films and actors, among other things, by means of voice input.
- St. Gallen Cantonal Bank
- In the smartphone app of St. Galler Kantonalbank, customers can trigger the financial assistant directly by voice. To this end, the app has been equipped with a voice button, which is intended to facilitate queries via smartphone. The function can also be used in Swiss German.
- Geberit
- The supplier of sanitary products enables voice control of Geberit shower toilets via the Geberit Aquaclean smartphone app.
IVR, Voice Authentication, Transcription
- Amag
- When calling the amag spare parts warehouse, garage owners can state the 17-digit alphanumeric chassis number, whereupon the employees in the spare parts warehouse already know at the beginning of the call which vehicle type is involved. The system understands different Swiss German dialects.
- Avaloq
- Avalog customers can use voice-controlled services based on a voice interface solution, such as identifying people on the phone based on automated speech recognition (ASR).
- PostFinance
- PostFinance authenticates customers by their voice when they call the contact center. After a voiceprint is created once, PostFinance recognizes customers by their voice for all subsequent calls. Customers have the option to reject this type of authentication (opt-out).
- Swisscard
- For its customer service, Swisscard uses a speech recognition solution that understands the spoken text of callers and processes it semantically. The callers' voiced customer concerns are transcribed into High German, interpreted, prioritized and assigned to the best-qualified customer service employee available for the concern.
- Canton Valais
- Since 2014, debates in the bilingual Valais cantonal parliament have been recorded using special speech recognition software.
- Geneva University
- Lectures at the University of Geneva are automatically transcribed and students are offered a keyword search based on this. The University of Geneva had already processed over 7,000 hours of video material in 2017.
Voice Assistant platforms (officially available in Switzerland)
- Siri from Apple
- The voice assistant Siri is officially available in Switzerland. With SiriKit, providers of an iOS app can make certain functions accessible as app extensions via Siri.
- Google Assistant
- Google Assistant is officially available in Switzerland in German, French and Italian. With Google Actions, third-party services can be made available via Google Assistant.
- Samsung Bixby
- Samsung Bixby is officially available in Switzerland. Samsung allows third-party developers to create apps for Bixby.
Natural Language Processing / Understanding, Authentication Solutions
- Recapp
- Technology from Recapp, a spin-off from Idiap Research Institute, enables the development of automatic speech recognition systems that adapt to new dialects, languages and speakers. Recapp can automatically log multilingual conversations involving technical terms. Recapp's technology understands search queries and voice commands in French, German, Italian, English and Swiss German dialect.
- Source: https://recapp.ch
- Technology from Recapp, a spin-off from Idiap Research Institute, enables the development of automatic speech recognition systems that adapt to new dialects, languages and speakers. Recapp can automatically log multilingual conversations involving technical terms. Recapp's technology understands search queries and voice commands in French, German, Italian, English and Swiss German dialect.
- Spitch
- Spitch provides solutions in automated speech recognition (ASR), voice user interfaces (VUI) and natural language data analysis. The focus is on providing accurate Natural Language Processing to improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs. In addition to numerous languages offered, Spitch is the first provider of enterprise solutions in various Swiss dialects.
- Source: https://spitch.ch/de/
- Spitch provides solutions in automated speech recognition (ASR), voice user interfaces (VUI) and natural language data analysis. The focus is on providing accurate Natural Language Processing to improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs. In addition to numerous languages offered, Spitch is the first provider of enterprise solutions in various Swiss dialects.
- SlowSoft
- SlowSoft creates speech technology components with a focus on minority languages and dialects. The actual core of SlowSoft's technology is Rhaeto-Romanic and Swiss-German speech synthesis (text-to-speech), which is not available from other, international providers. SlowSoft focuses on the specifically Swiss needs in the field of speech technology.
- Futurae
- With "Zero-Touch for Smart Speakers," Futurae enables companies such as banks and insurance companies to seamlessly secure their customers' interactions with voice assistants using two-factor authentication.
- Crealogix
- Crealogix acquired the startup Koemei (IDIAP spin-off) in 2017. With Spexian, Crealogix Digital Learning offers searching of video and audio recordings (e.g. lectures, telephone conversations) for specific terms, the solution converts speech directly into text (ASR) and indexes keywords. A search engine allows for quick retrieval of terms.
Knowledge transfer from practice
- Institute for Digital Business HWZ
- The Institute for Digital Business at the HWZ is a Swiss-wide training, consulting and research center for digital transformation. As part of the MAS Digital Business, dedicated lectures on the topic of Voice User Interface are offered in CAS courses.
- Voice Meetup Switzerland
- The Voice Meetup Switzerland is a platform for the exchange among corporates, startups and interested parties on the topic of Voice User Interface. Meetups with speakers from the field (e.g. Amazon, Spitch, SRF, Swisscom, what3word, etc.) take place at regular intervals.
Basic research, applied research, experiments
- EPFL
- The Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (LIA) focuses on various research topics related to Voice User Interface such as Natural Language Processing. The Data Science Lab aims to make sense of large amounts of data (including natural language processing). Furthermore, the Machine Learning and Optimization Laboratory also deals with Natural Language Processing.
- Idiap Research Institute
- The Idiap Research Institute is an independent, non-profit research foundation affiliated with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The research institute includes several research groups related to voice user interfaces such as the Natural Language Understanding Group and the Speech & Audio Processing Group.
- ETH
- The Data Analytics LAB investigates topics related to large-scale data analysis and organization. Among other things, natural language processing and understanding are also of particular interest.
- University of St. Gallen
- The Institute for Media and Communication Management at the University of St. Gallen has published a study on application potentials and examples of conversational interfaces as well as other publications on the topic of conversational interfaces.
- Lucerne University
- Prof. Dr. Reto Hofstetter from the University of Lucerne and his team, in collaboration with communications agency Farner, have published the first representative study on the use of voice user interfaces in Switzerland.
- Université de Genève
- The Computational Learning and Computational Linguistics research group at the University of Geneva consists of research associates and PhD students from the Faculties of Linguistics (LATL) and Computer Science (CUI, GAIL). The group is engaged in interdisciplinary research combining Linguistic Modeling with Machine Learning.
- Source: http://clcl.unige.ch/
- The Computational Learning and Computational Linguistics research group at the University of Geneva consists of research associates and PhD students from the Faculties of Linguistics (LATL) and Computer Science (CUI, GAIL). The group is engaged in interdisciplinary research combining Linguistic Modeling with Machine Learning.
- Zurich University
- Institute of Computational Linguistics conducts research and teaching in computational linguistics, speech technology, phonetics and speech signal processing. The Phonetics Group and the Phonetic Laboratory conduct basic research on various aspects of phonetics and speech signal processing.
- Farner
- The communications agency Farner, together with the University of Lucerne, has published the first representative study on the use of voice user interfaces in Switzerland. Lectures and workshops on the topic of voice user interfaces are held at the Farner Lab in Zurich.
- Viseca
- Angela Finance is a prototype of a conversational interface from Viseca Card Services. Angela Finance enables two-factor authentication, allowing customers to check their latest credit card transactions, for example. In collaboration with the University of St. Gallen, Viseca has published a study and a technical article on Alexa Skills and the development of Angela Finance.
- FHS St. Gallen
- The University of Applied Sciences St. Gallen is investigating new application possibilities, potentials and requirements in connection with voice user interfaces. As part of the research project "conego", requirements and success criteria for a voice-based conversational e-government for the city of St. Gallen are being investigated. A central project result is a functional prototype of a voice-based service for citizens.
Voice Apps & Services no longer available
- SBB
- SBB offered a voice-activated timetable with voice recognition in the SBB Mobile Preview app. Using voice input, customers could enter their destinations and have the desired connections displayed. The voice timetable recognized requests not only in written German but also in all Swiss German dialects. The function was removed from the SBB Mobile Preview app in mid-2019.
- Swisscom
- Starting in 2016, Swisscom used a system for identifying customers by voice. In May 2019, Swisscom decided to no longer use voice recognition on its hotline. The registered voiceprints were deleted.
Download Voice Map Switzerland: Voicemap.ch
