Phone-Or, a supplier of optical microphone system solutions, and Wavemakers, a developer of voice optimization software, announced October 24th that they have reached an understanding to enter into a collaborative effort to design effective speech solutions for high background noise environments, especially automotive telematics. Wavemakers and Phone-Or are working together to optimize performance of the Phone-Or EverBeam background noise supression (BNS) optical microphone system for telematics by using Wavemakers' voice optimization solution, ClearStream.

Phone-Or's EverBeam optical microphone has been designed to enable superior speech quality for voice communication and speech recognition applications for automotive telematics. EverBeam incorporates real-time analog processing and BNS capabilities to reduce driver distraction.

Wavemaker's ClearStream voice optimization software detects and extracts voice from virtually any audio signal, thereby enabling machines to distinguish human voices from background noises, even in high-noise environments. Because ClearStream algorithms require only one microphone, WaveMakers' software consumes fewer hardware and computing resources than other solutions, allowing engineers to optimize speech recognition accuracy without sacrificing performance or speed.

"By combining Wavemakers' award-winning software, ClearStream, with Phone-Or's award-winning optical microphone technology, we will be able to provide an integrated and optimized solution of hardware and software that will enhance the performance of speech recognition applications for automotive telematics, as well as for human listening," said Peter van der Gracht, Wavemakers president and CEO.

Oded Turbahn, president and CEO of Phone-Or commented, "I believe that the joint effort between Phone-Or and Wavemakers will provide automotive telematics with a combined solution of two leading technologies. With superior voice communication and unparalleled speech recognition performance, this new solution will ultimately enhance the driver experience."

For more information, visit www.phone-or.com or www.wavemakers.com.