Google Acquires Limes Audio to Improve Audio Quality in Its Products
Voice has been at the lead of interpersonal communication in the digital age since traditional mobile phones, and now the video is growing even further through services like Skype, Hangouts, and Facetime. Our reliance on video and voice will only grow stronger through the propagation of faster and more consistent internet connections.
After obtaining smartwatch OS startup Chronological last month, Google has now developed another company called Limes Audio. The Swedish company deals in voice communications solutions, and basically builds technology that aims to progress audio quality for communication-related technology.
Google understands the importance of voice quality in such communication scenarios. And rightfully so too, as two of their products, Google Hangouts, and Google Duo, incorporate audio-video communication as their main product features. To advance the online voice communication systems, Google has declared that it has acquired Limes Audio.
Google has said this acquisition on its blog but has renounced from revealing any financial details. Limes Audio was founded in 2007 by academic researchers Fredric Lindstrom and Christian Schuldt, with the aim to grow technology that makes voice communication systems sound better. The company had a workforce of only 20 people.
Limes Audio’s technology will improve the audio quality of Google’s products by eliminating distracting noises, distortion as well as echoes that users usually experience during an online meeting. The call quality gets of inferior quality if the internet connection is poor, which is another problem that the technology developed by the Swedish company takes on.
We’re not quite sure when the new technology will be combined with Google’s products, as the company has not shared this piece of info with the public yet. The online search giant also didn’t disclose how much it spent to acquire Limes Audio.
"One of the biggest challenges to a great video meeting is the audio quality. Conference rooms today come in all shapes and sizes and that can provide a challenge for acoustics. Additionally, a poor Internet connection can hamper voice quality in video conference calls. Limes Audio has been building solutions that remove the distracting noise, distortion, and echoes that can affect online video and telephony meetings, improving the overall online conference experience. We're excited to work closely with the Limes Audio team to introduce new solutions that offer our customers the best online voice quality on the market," Google wrote on its blog.
This advises that Google could also be working with Limes Audio to build new products that raise audio quality, apart from improving the experience in existing products like Hangouts and YouTube Live.