Is 'Majel' Android's voice-recognition assistant?

by Steven Mostyn - Dec 15 2011, 15:26

Following on from news that Google has acquired Clever Sense—maker of the Alfred recommendations app—it would appear the online technology titan is pushing hard when it comes to rivaling the iPhone’s Siri voice recognition service.

Moreover, Android and Me claims to have uncovered details of Project Majel, which is apparently the codename Google is using during the development of its own Android-based personal assistant.

The project’s title will be telling for anyone with more than a passing interest in cult sci-fi show Star Trek. Not least because it ties in with Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, who was the long-serving voice of the computer systems utilized by the United Federation of Planets.

Although Google is presently keeping quiet regarding its plans to challenge Siri, the report suggests Majel will become a voice-controlled evolution of the existing Voice Actions feature used in Android handsets.  

It’s also worth noting that Matias Duarte, director of Android User Experiences at Google, recently hinted at the prospect of something similar to Majel emerging from the search-giant’s production pipeline.

“Our approach is more like Star Trek, right, Starship Enterprise; every piece of computing surface, everything is voice-aware,” he commented. “It’s not that there’s a personality, it doesn’t have a name, it’s just a ‘Computer’,” he added.

Some of the facets presently being associated with Majel include voice-activated Internet searches, handset and feature navigation, and the control of software applications.

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