mpp@ems.Ems.MN.ORG (Michael Palmquist) (12/20/88)
I am looking for sources/examples (products, research, design metaphors) of voice-activated interface o voice-activated systems, o voice-recognition systems as secondary/alternative interface, o instructional systems that use voice input/commands/output, o hardware/software systems using voice as some method of input/output. I am a software designer working in the education market (k-12). Any products (Mac, Apple IIGS, IBM) or research (handicapped, education, language arts, software with "alternate modalities") specific to my background would be very much appreciated. Michael Palmquist MECC, 3490 Lexington Av. S, St. Paul, MN 55126 mpp@ems.MN.org or @mecc.MN.org
klee@daisy.UUCP (Ken Lee) (12/21/88)
In article <6986@ems.Ems.MN.ORG> mpp@ems.Ems.MN.ORG (Michael Palmquist) writes: >I am looking for sources/examples (products, research, design metaphors) of >voice-activated interface A year or so ago, I looked into many of the best commercial voice products. Input products are mainly used as a replacement for menus. That way, the system can compare the input against a small number of choices and performance is reasonable. Performance is still much slower and less accurate (and nosier) than other menu techniques. The voice input must also be tuned for each user, which could be a pain in the classroom. Still, it could be useful for people who would rather not (or cannot) use hand-controlled input devices (e.g., keyboards). Voice (and other sound) output is now common. Even cars talk to you these days. It is especially valuable when other forms of output are not available (e.g., no screen) or confusing (e.g., the user is busy focusing on some other display). Good luck. Ken Lee Daisy Systems Corp., Interactive Graphics Tools Dept. -- uucp: uunet!daisy!klee arpanet: daisy!klee@uunet.uu.net "DC6 which is being used for [Contra weapons supply] runs out of New Orleans is probably being used for drug runs into U.S." - Oliver North, August, 1985
mpp@ems.Ems.MN.ORG (Michael Palmquist) (12/22/88)
In article <2206@daisy.UUCP>, klee@daisy.UUCP (Ken Lee) writes: > In article <6986@ems.Ems.MN.ORG> mpp@ems.Ems.MN.ORG (Michael Palmquist) writes: > >I am looking for sources/examples (products, research, design metaphors) of > >voice-activated interface > > A year or so ago, I looked into many of the best commercial voice > products. Input products are mainly used as a replacement for menus. Yes. I did find a few research articles in 1987 Conference Proceedings for ACM's CHI + GI. Kane & Yuschik (Wang Lab), "A Case Example of HUman Factors in Product Definition: Needs Finding for a Voice Output Workstation for the Blind" and Aucella et al. "Voice: Technology Searching for Needs". My thought is that if you use voice input you have a tough job of recognition particularly in an educational setting -- many users, wide variation of accents and speech abilities. There is also the problem of integrating and configuring the hardware system. I like Kurtzweil's approach. I don't like the price. > Voice (and other sound) output is now common. Even cars talk to you > these days. It is especially valuable when other forms of output are > not available (e.g., no screen) or confusing (e.g., the user is busy > focusing on some other display). That's true. There is an issue of digitized (captured) vs. synthesized (generated) voice. And subissues: available memory, available storage, comprehensible output, and modifiablity -- should there be a voice "control panel" for pitch, tone, speed, male/female, etc. How easy an interface would that be to learn? If you have systhesized voice, you have great flexibility in the data dictionary, but you've got basically (Rob Swigart) "alcoholic robots with speech impediments". If you digitize, you have zero flexibility. And a huge data dictionary of sound packets. But you have recognizable, warm speech. Well, in a nutshell anyway. Thoughts? Michael Palmquist: software designer, rogue. @mecc.mn.org or @ems.mn.org