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Motorola Solutions Invests in VocalZoomMotorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI (News - Alert)), a leading provider of mission-critical communication solutions and services for public safety and commercial customers, through its investment arm Motorola (News - Alert) Solutions Venture Capital has invested in VocalZoom Ltd., a leading developer of sensors for speech enhancement. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. VocalZoom has developed a unique optoelectronic microphone able to substantially enhance a speaker's voice over any background noise. The technology creates a "virtual cube" in space, sensing sound from only within the cube. This enables highly significant speech enhancement and precise speaker isolation, which are the key elements missing today to enable mass-usage of voice-driven applications for devices such as radios and smartphones. Motorola Solutions' investment in VocalZoom is part of its strategy to advance mission-critical communications by connecting public safety and commercial customers with real-time data and intelligence like never before. As part of its ongoing effort to push the boundaries of innovation, the company believes VocalZoom's technology can establish a new frontier in voice commands and sharing of intelligence with public safety personnel through devices, even in a noisy environment or in the heat of the momet with a perpetrator. Voice-enabled technology is one of many ways that Motorola Solutions is defining the future of mission-critical public safety communications. "VocalZoom has the potential to be the difference of whether a firefighter can communicate at a dangerous fire scene or if a transportation or utility worker can give or receive information in a noisy work environment," said Paul Steinberg, chief technology officer at Motorola Solutions. "For police officers, for example, turning their heads to communicate can be the difference between life and death for them or the people they are protecting, or the difference between whether a criminal is apprehended or escapes." "VocalZoom's optical microphone is the only technology of its kind that is not affected by any background noise, and has the potential to provide disruptive voice clarity in any condition," said VocalZoom's Chairman, Yechiel Kurtz, "We are excited with the partnership with Motorola Solutions, which provides us with new opportunities in a large and strategic market." Other VocalZoom investors in this series of funding include existing investors 3M (News - Alert) and OurCrowd, as well as new investor FueTrek (Japan). About Motorola Solutions Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) creates innovative, mission-critical communication solutions and services that help public safety and commercial customers build safer cities and thriving communities. For ongoing news, visit www.motorolasolutions.com/newsroom or subscribe to a news feed. About VocalZoom VocalZoom was founded in 2009 with the mission to enable clear communication and voice recognition in any natural environment. Its SEEON™ technology "zooms in" on an individuals' voice using a proprietary optical sensor, that measures facial skin vibrations from the speaker's face and is unaffected by any background noise. VocalZoom's patented technology singles itself out from all other Noise Reduction technologies, since it is the only technology that provides an independent and reliable reference audio signal, in any environment and with no physical contact. VocalZoom's technology has been shown to increase speech recognition results by more than 10x, providing the enabling element for widespread use of speech recognition and clear communications. For more information, visit www.vocalzoom.com. MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ©2015 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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