AT&T Labs launches first product

Harking back to the days of Ma Bell, AT&T Labs yesterday announced it is back in the vendor game, releasing its first commercial product since AT&T spun off Lucent Technologies in 1996.

AT&T Labs launched Natural Voices, a computer-generated speech program that AT&T claims is the most “human” on the market. The application translates text directly into speech in several different languages. While the engine produces spoken language that is obviously synthetic, it generates changes of tone and inflection as well as partially replicating the natural fluidity of human speech, making it much clearer than common computer-generated speech programs. When limited to phrases of a few words, it becomes difficult to differentiate the synthetic speech from carefully pronounced human speech.

“People don’t really care if it’s completely natural as long as it’s pleasant,” said Jurgen Schroeter, chief operating officer of the newly created Natural Voices business unit. “That makes it easier to listen to.”

More significantly, Natural Voices represents the first time AT&T Labs has gone beyond its traditional research-and-development role and ventured into the commercial space. While the lab has generated numerous patents, licensed technology and collected royalties, Natural Voices is the first instance in which AT&T’s research arm will market and sell its own technology. That role previously was filled by Bell Labs, which joined Lucent Technologies when AT&T spun off its network manufacturing division five years ago. Since then, AT&T has been a pure-play carrier with an in-house R&D unit.

During the last five years, the R&D unit has become overzealously productive, according to AT&T chief technology officer and president of AT&T Labs Dave Nagle. It began developing technologies at a similar pace--albeit on a smaller scale--as its predecessor, Bell Labs. According to AT&T, Bell Labs generate an average of a patent per day.

“No one can afford to leave technology just sitting on the shelf,” Nagle said. “You have to get it out there.”

What the next step will be is a little less clear. Nagle said. AT&T Labs will continue to work on speech technologies building on its new business unit, but it is unknown whether AT&T Labs chooses to follow big brother Bell Labs consistently on the cutting edge of new technology.