March 25, 2010 report
Phone call emotion analyzer is a winner (w/ Video)
(PhysOrg.com) -- An Israeli company, eXaudios Technologies, has developed a software application that automatically analyzes the intonation and volume of a person’s speech in real time and translates it into statements and graphics describing the speaker’s emotions.
The system, dubbed Maginify, is likely to find its way into call centers to monitor calls, where it will allow the staff to identify callers who are becoming angry, and react to appease rather than inflate the anger. It will also enable supervisors to monitor the call center agents, and even step in if required, to try to turn the call around. Managers will be able to identify agents who are behaving in a way that tends to anger customers, and agents may be able to adjust their own behavior when they see their call statistics. Callers will also benefit because they will be able to leave a message when they call in, and the most upset or angry would be pushed to the front of the queue to speak to a live agent.
The system identifies a range of emotions, but in the call center environment anger and happiness are the most important in terms of keeping customers, and the profits that often come with them. The speech analysis technology can also correlate with physical indicators, which according to eXaudios could one day make it useful for screening for Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, and even heart disease. eXaudios also believes its product could find application in Homeland Security in the US.
The Maginify system is independent of the language spoken and analyzes the intonation of the voice. Its inventor and CEO of eXaudios Technologies, Yoram Levanon, said the system produces a statement of the speaker’s emotions in 10-15 seconds, with around 80% accuracy. Levanon said that for unknown reasons the technology is less accurate when the speaker has dyslexia.
The first use of the technology will be installation in large call centers, but it will also be available as a software-as-a-service release. There will also be a low-end version that analyzes recorded rather than live calls and generates statistical analyses on them.
The system was unveiled at DEMOSpring 2010 in Palm Springs, California earlier this week, where it won the People’s Choice Award of advertising to the tune of $1 million.
More information: Company website: www.exaudios.com/
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