Agora Inc, one of the top global firms for real-time engagement application programme interfaces (APIs), recently debuted its Real-Time Transcription solution.
According to the global firm, the new solution will provide developers with a fast, accurate, and affordable transcription and subtitling service. Additionally, users will benefit from the API as it can integrate across all apps and services. This also has the potential for greater adoption across extended reality (XR) programmes.
Due to limitations across typical transcription programmes, Agora developed its real-time transcription service to tackle such issues. For example, many transcribers struggle with noisy environments, issues with multiple speakers, and heavy accents. However, Agora’s solution aims to resolve such challenges with accurate speech-to-text and cross-talk processing, even in situations with poor network bandwidth.
Top Features of Agora’s Real-Time Transcription API
Some of the top features include:
- Live transcription to transcribe both audio and video into captions to boost outreach to audiences
- Speaker labelling to determine speakers for accurate transcriptions
- Searchable transcripts to locate words and phrases across speakers
- Transcription recording to tap cloud-based recording services for live recordings
- Channel-based transcriptions for up to three hosts on a channel
With Agora’s platform, users can translate text instantaneously to closed captioning for content sharing, replay, and moderation. They can then use the service across conference calls, live streams, and other broadcast events.
Developers can also scale the solution across video calls to multichannel live streams for up to 100 people. Users with accessibility concerns like hearing and language impairments can also leverage the solution to access content. This leads to greater adoption of creative content by removing barriers to language and communication.
Additionally, such solutions can create a host of use cases, such as real-time annotations for meetings, lectures,m and press conferences. Retailers and customer support teams can also transcribe their immersive content in real-time to audiences.
Users could play games with annotated communications across live conversations for virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) content. Conversely, immersive demos, performances, exhibitions, and lectures can apply Agora’s platform to reach substantially larger audiences.
Real-Time Transcription for Real-Time Engagement
Tony Zhao, Chief Executive and Co-Founder, Agora, said in a statement,
“The launch of our new Real-Time Transcription solution will give developers and brands the required tools to have instant audio transcription and deliver their customers accessible and exceptional interactions. This powerful technology is designed to seamlessly integrate with any app or service, and we’re proud to offer this cutting-edge solution to empower businesses to interact with customers in new ways.”
Zhao continued that industries seeking to reach audiences would “benefit from implementing our Real-Time Transcription technology.”
He continued that the solution would benefit the healthcare, media, entertainment, and education industries. These were crucial sectors “where the ability to accurately and quickly transcribe, and subtitle content is critical,” he added.
Agora Steps Up Immersive Solutions
The announcement comes as Agora continues to innovate its immersive solutions for enterprise users. In late February, the company announced it had developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-backed noise suppression solution. The programme assists users with clear, unobstructed communications during calls, with the potential for developers to integrate the solution on XR applications.
With deep-learning, AI-empowered enhancements, Agora’s noise suppression tool eliminates noise, echo, reverberation, and low latency issues. Developers can design solutions across Windows and macOS, Android and iOS, Flutter React Native, Electron, and Unity-based applications.
The new toolkit could also improve live casting and metaverse interactions, fully immersing people in Agora’s 3D spatial audio innovations.
Global firms have introduced similar solutions on their bespoke hardware. AR firm XRAI Glass revealed it had developed software for the hearing impaired to deliver closed captioning tools last year.
After a pilot programme, the company released its solution on the Google Play Store. The device’s software converts conversations to subtitles on the glasses’ field of view (FoV). Using Nreal Air smart glasses, XRAI also allows people to identify speakers, transcribe discussions, and transliterate across nine languages.
