Facebook reportedly testing voice recognition tool called Aloha

Facebook is said to be testing voice recognition tool called Aloha (Image Source: Bloomberg)

Facebook is reportedly developing its own speech recognition feature under the moniker Aloha. The latest information about the development of Facebook’s speech recognition comes courtesy of frequent TechCrunch tipster and app investigator, Jane Manchun Wong. While digging into the code of Facebook and Messenger app on Android, Wong spotted reference of a prototype of the Aloha user interface.

According to a TechCrunch report, the speech recognition tool labelled as “Aloha Voice Testing,” recognises words spoken by the user and transcribe it to text. The code Wong unearthed reportedly describes the feature connecting to external WiFi or Bluetooth devices. This indicates that Facebook might look to use the tool as a ‘cross-platform assistant,’ similar to Google or Apple’s voice assistant. TechCrunch notes that the software will likely run on both, Facebook’s software and hardware. Wong also found an Aloha logo with a graphic of a volcano ‘buried’ in Facebook’s code.

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Apparently, Facebook was originally said to be planning a smart speaker which was also codenamed “Aloha” and “Portal.” However, the plans were supposedly put on hold earlier this year ahead of Facebook’s F8 conference in May due to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Facebook did not respond to the latest development about Aloha, however, a spokesperson told TechCrunch, “We test stuff all the time — nothing to share today but my team will be in touch in a few weeks about hardware news coming from the AR/VR org.” Facebook is gearing for its Oculus Connect 5 conference scheduled to happen on September 25.