SwiftKey wants to make our smartphone keyboards even smarter, and has announced SwiftKey Neural Alpha, which is a keyboard aimed at offering more accurate typing predictions and learning typing habits quicker.
The idea behind the keyboard is that it uses a machine learning algorithm called a neural network. Basically, the keyboard tries to learn typing habits in a way similar to how the human brain learns.
"It [neural networks] gives the ability for SwiftKey to predict and suggest words in a way that's more meaningful and more like how language is actually used by people," said SwiftKey chief marketing officer Joe Braidwood in an interview with VentureBeat.
According to SwiftKey, this system will bring a noticeable difference for everyday use.
SwiftKey itself has been building up a reputation over the past few years as being a great keyboard replacement for Android devices. The goal is that, over time, it learns the user's typing patterns, enabling them to type messages must faster. Part of the way that it learns is through the user's typing history, but it also scans texts from a number of sources to learn about popular word orders in general.
Of course, SwiftKey isn't the only company using neural networks, with Google having introduced a neural network for its Google Translate app.
SwiftKey is also not limiting itself to Android devices. Last year, news emerged that the company was working with Stephen Hawking to help him communicate as much as two times as fast.
Users interested in trying out the new SwiftKey keyboard can head to the Google Play Store to download it.
Via: VentureBeat
