me2me, a venture of leading Swiss telecom carrier Swisscom, is a mobile information storage and retrieval service. This innovative and highly scalable solution assembled by Optaros, allows mobile phone users to access information and services from the web, as well as store memos, handle voicemail and manage calendar agendas.
Assembly Highlights
- Innovative mobile application provides storage and retrieval service for users
- Platform assembled to seamlessly handle voice and web interactions
- Built to manage an extensive vocabulary in both English and German
- Designed to scale without need for system modifications
- Best of Swiss Web 2009 Award for Technology Innovation (Silver)
- Best of Swiss Web 2009 Award for Business Efficiency (Bronze)
The Challenge
While voice access to IT systems and information is not new, the specific capabilities that me2me was looking for were difficult to find. The company needed a solution that could recognize large vocabularies in several languages and any voice, and be scalable and affordable to the mass market. Most companies me2me looked into had greatly reduced vocabulary and language recognition, required extensive training on specific voices or were simply too expensive for distribution to the average consumer. Also the typical voice recognition system weaknesses made these solutions inconvenient for the casual user of a day to day voice information service.
Determined to overcome these barriers and offer a highly scalable, cost-effective service for the masses, me2me turned to Optaros, providers of custom, online applications for clients through the Assembled Web.
The Assembly
Optaros assembled the me2me platform from three main building blocks - the WAVE (Web-and-Voice) Engine from partner Super Computer Systems (SCS) as the basis for the voice interface, the web front-end and application, and the management infrastructure - all of which were implemented in parallel and in close collaboration. After only three months a first prototype was shown to me2me that handled both voice and web interactions. During phase two the platform was stabilized and enhanced to a version 1.0. Optaros' use of Open Source components was crucial to enable low cost scalability, while still being able to build on top of state-of-the-art components and offer the functionality that the me2me solution required.
Using Optaros Assembly Methodoloy (OptAM) and in-house interactive collaboration platform OForge, Optaros' project lead was able to efficiently manage and coordinate the team on this this complex project, and keep me2me informed on the assembly status and details at any time.
The Results
With the first public beta release in February 2009, me2me has established a landmark solution in the context of convenient voice- and web-accessible services and information, and there are countless possibilities for me2me to expand its services portfolio. Due to the modular platform in which Optaros built me2me's software, new services (such as an enhanced voice mail service) can be added on with little effort.
me2me's unique voice and web platform architecture allows voice interpretation in real time, providing directly interaction via voice with the user. Thanks to the specifically designed WAVE system architecture from Swiss IT systems provider SCS, me2me manages a large vocabulary of more than 10,000 words in both English and German, and is designed for scalability without the need for system modifications.
Combined with the tailored management infrastructure that Optaros assembled with open source components, me2me was able to find a solution at a price point not possible before - making me2me's ideal solution achievable, and accessible to the mass market.