voice control technology For those interested, here is a primer...

voice control technology For those interested, here is a primer on some of the applications of Adacel’s voice control technology. (In my previous post I focused on the ATC simulator side of ADA's business. Voice control emerged from ATC sim development, and is now a separate part of ADA's business).

Application 1:
In the cockpit of advanced military aircraft such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), Adacel’s technology is being used to control various non-critical systems by voice commands from the pilot. For example, even in a noisy cockpit, Adacel's technology allows the pilot to utter key words or phrases to instigate tasks such as radar mode switching, display switching, navigation tasking, etc. Lockheed Martin have stated that they expect Adacel’s technology will remove the need for a pilot to look down at the displays in the majority of situations. In turn this should reduce pilot workload increasing platform effectiveness.

Once the technology has been refined in the JSF, there is a good chance that it will be retrofitted onto other military aircraft. In the long term, there is also the potential for the technology to be implemented in high-end civilian aircraft. Adacel will be paid royalty payment on each aircraft that the technology is implemented in. With regard to the JSF programme alone, this should see Adacel receive royalty payments on 3000 aircraft, with the first payments starting in CY07.

Application 2:
Just last month, a consortium was formed through DARPA (the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to develop a common operating system (COS) for the next generation of all allied country’s UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). A key component of next gen UAV’s will be their ability to (i) be controlled by voice commands from ground pilots, (ii) their ability to be controlled by other airborne pilots (i.e., the UAV needs to be able to act as a ‘wingman’ to a conventional aircraft), and (iii) give voice feedback to air traffic controllers and pilots etc (i.e. the UAV needs to be able to function like a human pilot so that conventional, speech-based Air Traffic Control infrastructure doesn’t need to changed to accommodate UAV’s). The two-way voice navigation/control system required for these tasks is extremely complex, and Adacel is one of only a handful of companies and academic institutions involved in its development. The development phase of these new UAV’s isn’t expected to start until CY07, so over the next 12-18 months the DARPA group will be testing Adacel’s technology against competing technology platforms. If Adacel’s technology is chosen to form the heart of the COS for the next gen of US, European and Aust UAV’s, then Adacel will receive royalty payments on 10s of thousands of UAV’s over the next decade or so.

Adacel has not released any guidance as to the per unit royalty payment for either application of it voice control technology. I can only speculate on per aircraft payments in the range of A$10k to A$100k.