I went to a major tech event DigiTec Expo and these three things caught my eye

The future of technology is here and it certainly looks bright. At least from the floor of the DigiTec Expo in the Armenia capital of Yerevan.

The annual event has returned again in 2024, this time in partnership with the World Congress on Innovation & Technology, and it was an impressive look at what is just around the corner. From AI-tools that can change accents on a call to educational models for getting kids into engineering, it was a real eye-catching display.

The biggest word of the day was of course artificial intelligence and there were plenty of booths showing off new start-ups, as well as a few more established brands, which have found interesting ways to use it. Here’s all you need to know:

The AI that can change your accent on a call

Have you ever been on a Zoom or Teams meeting and struggled to hear someone because of the background noise? Or perhaps you have been on a work call and found it tough to follow what one of your colleagues or customers is saying because of their accent.

Well, this incredible AI tool may make both of those problems a thing of the past - like cave drawings, using cash or wearing shoulder pads. Krisp, which was founded in Armenia but is now based in the US, could be a complete game changer and when I saw it in action at Krisp’s booth at DigiTec, I couldn’t quite believe it was real.

Using artificial intelligence powered voice-technology, Krisp is a plug-in which can provide noise cancelling on your video call - isolating your voice and making it crystal clear for others to hear. Beyond that it can also take down transcripts of your call, so you don’t have to make notes in the moment.

However the part that really caught my eye was the accent localisation tool, which did feel like a true leap into the future. In the demo I heard a person with a strong Indian accent suddenly sound like an honest-to-goodness American - it was so impressive it was almost like a form of magic.

Krisp is a plug-in which can work with your preferred video call platform.Find out more here.

Educational model could be way to get kids into STEM

Government after government in the UK has banged the drum for the importance of STEM and getting more kids into them. But, at least speaking from my own experience at school, the way we teach the subjects is perhaps not the most conducive for lighting a fire of passion in students.

However over in Armenia, the very impressive Armath programme has been going from strength to strength since starting out in 2011. It teaches children about technology and engineering through doing - we got to see some of the projects that students had cooked up, using tech like 3D printers, and it included a remote controlled robot as well as a device to perfectly pour the right amount of water into a glass and a smart greenhouse.

Armenia is starting to export Armath’s educational model to other countries around the world - seven so far including the United States - by making it open source. Could we see this model arrive in the UK in the future?

SleepDoctor will help improve your sleep

Apparently a billion people around the world have sleep apnea and most sufferers don’t even realise. Here is where the French-Armenia start-up SleepDoctor comes in, helping diagnose sleep issues and provide treatment.

Currently it is limited to just France - and the Paris region in particular - but it is a really eye-catching concept. Initially you fill out a questionnaire and then in the next stage they send out a device to track your sleep.

While SleepDoctor doesn't develop the devices - saying instead that they use the best in class - it has created the software which will help provide the best possible experience for patients and doctors. It may not be available in the UK right now, but is one to keep an eye for in the future.

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