Title	TEYE
Product/Service	TEYE IS A VOICE-CONTROLLED VOIP TELEPHONE WITH AN INTERFACE CONSISTING OF AN ABS
Category	A01. Innovation
Entrant Company	DENKWERK Cologne, GERMANY
Advertising Agency	DENKWERK Cologne, GERMANY

Name	Company	Position
Alina Schlaier	Denkwerk Gmbh	Creative Director
Jochen Schlaier	Denkwerk Gmbh	Creative Director
Gregor Kuschmirz	Denkwerk Gmbh	Creative Director
Marcel Zauche	Denkwerk Gmbh	Conception
Paul Lang	Denkwerk Gmbh	Conception
Alexander Firsanov	Denkwerk Gmbh	Conception
Benjamin Wolf	Denkwerk Gmbh	Programmer
Lucia Grompone	Denkwerk Gmbh	Production Designer
Philipp Spaans	Denkwerk Gmbh	Electronics
Alexander Mitzkus	Denkwerk Gmbh	Electronics

The Brief

It has meanwhile been possible to control many devices using voice commands. But lots of people feel strange talking to an object. Yet, if we are to believe the technology visionaries, most of our devices will soon have no screens, or touchscreens for that matter. So in the future the spoken word will be our number one means of interaction. We believe that a pair of eyes will considerably facilitate this step towards this future. Why? Because initially we recognise everything that has eyes as a living being – whether human, animal or machine. With this scenario in mind we developed the VoIP telephone ‘Teye’, completely without a screen but with abstracted eyes. We use it to communicate between our company offices in Cologne and Berlin. The emoticon-like eyes fulfil two functions at once: they help to operate the device, by visualising different states (ready for use / switched off). And they also reinforce emotional contents during telephone calls. The telephone interprets speech: if certain words or word combinations are said, the expressive position of the eyes conveys the corresponding feeling. With ‘Teye’ we are breaking barriers in voice control and providing our conversation partners on the other end of the phone with a physical presence using simple graphic means.

We have installed a Raspberry Pi in every Teye and connected it to a distance sensor, a microphone, two servo motors, an amplified loudspeaker and a Wi-Fi antenna. The distance sensor practically takes on the function of an on/off switch so the device does not need to be touched at any time. Via SIP protocol, all Teyes dial up to the same server. Every Teye has a fixed telephone number so the devices can call one another. Teye uses different open-source libraries for both voice recognition, as well as the activation of the motors. Via individual libraries voice commands such as e.g. ‘Call Berlin’ are recognised. Using lists of positive and negative words the system recognises the conversation partner’s emotion and controls the motors so that the facial expressions of the Teye telephones correspond to it. A particular challenge in the realisation of Teye was intelligently combining the voice control with the interface consisting of just two motors. There were issues with the microphone and the motors, which, when combined, created annoying acoustic feedback. We managed to remedy this by optimally adjusting an echo cancellation filter. Another hurdle concerned the Raspberry Pi’s relatively weak processor. In order to prevent the voice output from breaking up, we had to manage the work steps for the processor to ensure they aren’t overburdened at any time. The result is the first functioning, voice-controlled voice over IP telephone without a screen or button, which can depict emotional states through physical movements.

With Teye we have succeeded in creating a VoIP telephone that can be controlled exclusively and in a fun way via voice commands. Due to its reduced interface in the form of an abstracted face, it helps to overcome the inhibitions that usually discourage us from speaking to devices. Teye not only makes conversations between our company offices more exciting: by displaying the emotions of the person we are talking to, it gives them a unique presence for the duration of the call. The spatial distance becomes secondary and every telephone call is turned into a real event. With Teye we are pushing the boundaries of innovative interfaces for communication between people and machines and demonstrating to our clients our strengths in the connection of software and hardware.