The Uniccon Group of Companies has unveiled an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Speech and Language Application Programming Interface (APIs) in to transform digital communication and accessibility across Africa.
It said that the application would aim to bridge Africa’s language technology gap by offering cutting-edge Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Speech Synthesis (Text-to-Speech).
The Chairman of Uniccon Group, Prof. Chuks Ekweme, said this during the unveiling of the APP in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ekweme said it would also have Language Translation channel with a special focus on Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin, and Nigeria-accented English.
He explained that the Speech Synthesis (Text-to-Speech) API would generate human-like speech in Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin, and English, adding that it will be perfect for media, education, virtual assistants, and accessibility tools.
He said following the inauguration of Omeife, the company leveraged its AI expertise to empower businesses, developers, and governments with cutting-edge speech solutions, including the speech-driven component.
He said these APIs represent the next step in making AI more accessible and impactful across Africa.
“It will be optimised for customer service automation, transcription, and voice activated commands. Lightning-fast response time of 0.34 seconds, making it one of the fastest ASR models for African languages.
“It will enable seamless interaction between humans and machines across multiple industries.
“Language translation API has high-accuracy translation between English, Hausa, and Yoruba, outperforming existing models.
“It will enhance healthcare, e-commerce, and telecommunications by eliminating language barriers, support real-time, context-aware translations tailored for African dialects, he said.
According to him, the innovation follows the success of Omeife, Africa’s first humanoid robot to further demonstrate the company’s commitment to pioneering indigenous AI solutions tailored to the continent’s needs.
“African languages have been underrepresented in global AI developments,” he said.
The chairman said that for the localised AI, Uniccon’s APIs were built for Africa’s linguistic and cultural nuances, unlike global models.
For scalability and affordability, he said, businesses of all sizes could integrate these APIs seamlessly with a flexible subscription-based pricing model.
He informed that data protection was paramount, with robust encryption ensuring user safety in the area of privacy and security.
He said that Uniccon was already developing additional features which include real-time streaming for speech recognition to support interactive AI solutions.
He urged developers, businesses and tech enthusiasts to start integrating Uniccon’s Speech and Language APIs through https://www.omeife.ai/ for access and inquiries.
NAN
