Developers have found that social media giant Facebook might be testing its speech recognition again. The voice recognition feature goes by the name 'Aloha'. The feature was first reported by TechCrunch, citing app investigator Jane Manchun Wong.
Facebook was initially planning a smart speaker, which was also codenamed Aloha or Portal - there is no clarity about the exact name at that time.
These plans were halted earlier this year because of the fall in public confidence, owing to the company’s data leak scandals surrounding the 2016 presidential elections in the US.
However, according to the TechCrunch report, it seems that Facebook might be working on a voice recognition project again. Wong discovered a new dictation feature within the code of Facebook's Android app and Messenger app.
However, right now all that this feature is capable of doing is transcribe text, which further indicates that this might further develop into a digital voice assistant.
Now, although transcribing text is different from a voice assistant, transcription capability is one of the first steps in the development of a full-fledged voice assistant.
The TechCrunch report also points out that the Aloha code also refers to external Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices. This means Facebook could be looking to develop a cross-platform assistant, similar to Google assistant.
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