Google Voice Search now optimized for Indian accents

Google announced on Tuesday at a press event in New Delhi that its Voice Search now supports Indian accents. Still limited to English, the company has implemented new technology that helps its software recognize commands spoken with a heavy accent. To pull this off, Mountain View worked with over 700 volunteers, collecting samples of people speaking English with an Indian accent. Some of the items rehearsed were common queries in different settings, like restaurants, busy streets and the inside of a car.

The idea was to simulate real-world scenarios where a person would actually use voice search commands. The updated Voice Search app is now available to Android devices running software version 2.3 or higher, along with iOS gadgets like iPhone and iPad.