Auris' Fonetti_ Leveraging AI and ML in Automatic Speech Recognition with Kim Antoniou

1. Auris' Fonetti: Leveraging AI and ML in Automatic Speech Recognition with Kim Antoniou Before diving into the article, let us first review what Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) entails. AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) in ASR technologies were developed to detect speech and convert it into words. They are also known as ‘speech- to-text technology’ and ‘speech recognition applications’. People who are interested in learning and improving their English Language can do so with the help of Automatic Speech Recognition software technology, as it can prove to be beneficial. People interested in this application can be of any age and utilize this feature for any purpose, be it for improving their fluency, literacy, accuracy, accents, etcetera. This application and software can also help people of all ages and dialects communicate with computers by voice and also help people read captions that are generated in real-time while watching any videos by the ‘speech-to-text captions’ feature. Therefore, in this article, we will be talking about the journey of one such founder - Kim Antoniou who started an Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology software called Auris and whose product application is known as Fonetti. This software was developed in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics. Kim Antoniou: Kim Antoniou is the founder and CEO of Auris Technology Limited. This company focuses completely on the AI software of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems and solutions. Auris Technology Limited and product application - Fonetti was founded in the year 2015 and is situated in London, United Kingdom. Kim Antoniou is an entrepreneur and a businesswoman who has all the required skills and experiences which has helped her in driving the development of a successful software product and platform called Fonetti, which has become the world’s first and leading Read Aloud Bookshop application with an equally word-class market accuracy of over 92%. On her mission to ‘enhance the world through innovative tech solutions’, Kim Antoniou’s entrepreneurial soul and determined goal, believed that every negative aspect or journey can always have a positive outcome and result. “With ambition and determination, I strive to create impactful and meaningful tech solutions that make a difference in people’s lives.” - Kim Antoniou. Kim Antoniou has vast experience in her entrepreneurial journey of having founded two start-up businesses that are very successful and actively gaining more engagements and reach. She is also the Ambassador and Chair-Person of the Entrepreneurs Collective in the

2. Female Founders Group, is also a Columnist at Elite Business, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). With her skills and talent in managing, leading, and encouraging a community to move toward tech-innovated solutions that give back to the people, Kim Antoniou has successfully revolutionized the Automatic Speech Recognition technology and has put it to good use. Auris’ Software Application - Fonetti: Fonetti is an application platform developed by Auris Tech Limited with close collaborations with the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics. It is the world’s leading and first learning and reading bookshop where the market accuracy is proven to be over 92%, making it a multi-award winning Read Aloud App. The application has been made accessible to people of all ages and is highly beneficial to improving the needs and requirements of fulfilling goals in improving literacy, accuracy, speech, reading, listening, accents, fluency, etcetera. With the help of the features and the machine learning algorithms built with, Fonetti undergoes a process in real-time where the data analytics looks deeply into recognizing various speech patterns and the related prosodic features of the learner and reader and in turn generates detailed real-time feedback. This feedback specifies the details concerning accuracy, efficiency, and literacy, as well as the various areas of improvement required during the learning and reading course, making it user-friendly, instilling more confidence, and encouragingly supportive of use. Concerning educators in education sectors, this platform proves beneficial in keeping track and monitoring a child’s or students’ improvements made while using the app. By accessing and making use of the tools in the Fonetti app, educators can assess and provide curated feedback accordingly for every student’s needs and requirements for improving their English Language skills. The data analytics of Fonetti helps users such as Publishers in determining the right demographic and geographic metrics of other users who are interested in the current and trending content that will better engage and increase sales. This content strategy feature is also made available and easy to access. With the real-time data and feedback provided during reading aloud, the in-app feature is also made to easily detect different dialects and accents to cover and support a collection of speakers and learners. To Conclude: Fonetti’s AI-driven Speech Recognition System, can detect and pick out words uttered even in noisy environments and correctly identifies the accuracy of pronunciations and the words read aloud. Fonetti is designed to be accessible to children without adult supervision, making it encouragingly entertaining as well. The various patents working on the developments of Auris’ Fonetti application are - The University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, Digital Pathways, Basck, Edinburgh Innovations, and AWS EdStart. The overall

3. accessibility, and experience, with the audible cues available on the Fonetti app, are said to help 74% of the kids who regularly use the features in their learning time over some time, to improve their speed, accuracy, pronunciation, and proficiency in the English Language, making it one of the best-developed applications of its kind yet.