Voice Recognition Software

Law Enforcement Gets a New App to Help with Booking

Peter — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:09:17 +0000

In a recent joint effort between SpeechPro and DataWorks, the two designed an app that will help law enforcement do certain aspects of their job more efficiently and with greater ease. SpeechPro, a U.S. subsidiary of Speech Technology Center, was what DataWorks wanted to use for the VoiceGrid SDK to help create the app. DataWorks is a top provider for law enforcement capabilities and solutions. The company offers these solutions to more than 500 agencies located throughout America and New Zealand.

For this unification, SpeechPro is taking care of the voice recognition instruments, while DataWorks supplies the actual application platform that makes this law enforcement app possible. The app adds enhanced features that will improve upon the entire mugshot, booking and identification process, making it quicker, easier and more time efficient. The final results make the agencies that use this system among the most cutting edge through use of better technology.

About the Union

Bringing together two technological powerhouses such as SpeechPro and DataWorks is like creating the dream team of this industry. SpeechPro is known for its efficient voice recognition software and the superior quality it provides when compared to the competition. In fact, it was this outfit that designed the world's first existing and operating voice-based system for identification used by the government of Mexico. Having been implemented in 2010, it is still the biggest speech biometric identification to this day.

DataWorks Plus is equally as important to the technology industry and is sure to have built as reliable and dependable an application platform as ever. This company has established itself as a proven leader within the market of law enforcement applications. Together both organizations prove the app that utilizes the VoiceGrid SDK paired with technology of the well designed app is the ideal app for law enforcement agencies to utilize.

What It Could Mean for Agencies

Alex Khitrov, the president of SpeechPro USA, gave a statement about the positive aspects of the union between the two companies. In this statement, he expressed his belief that he felt assured more agencies would switch to voice recognition systems if they got familiar with the benefits available from it. He went on to say that these agencies would appreciate the value that could come from improved abilities to assist in solving cases.

Voice recognition software could assist agencies in solving crimes including domestic abuse, extortion and kidnapping as well as many others. It could also lead to solving organized crime and gang related criminal cases. Even terrorist threats could help be solved by using this type of system. Already because of this partnership and the system development, the two companies have received good news.

There has been at least one agreement to include a voice recognition system by the end of the year from at least one major U.S. state justice agency. This testing system will help others get on board and see the value of the project that DataWorks and SpeechPro united to create.

Latest in ASR Going Mobile for AVRS

Peter — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:06:45 +0000

It may all sound a bit confusing with all the acronyms being thrown around, but it doesn't have to be that confusing. The bottom line is that in recent news the AVRS, or Advanced Voice Recognition Systems, Inc., released a follow up to the current standing with the Interference in the Board of Patents Appeals and Interferences. The original Interference was declared in 2010, and the proceedings took place in early 2011. As of right now, AVRS is still awaiting the results and has not had any further word from the panel. All the company can do is hope a decision is made soon as it has been nearly a year since the panel first heard the arguments.

About the ASR

In the statement released from AVRS, the company wanted to make the public aware of their general corporate overview in addition to the update. The company went on to explain about ASR or Automatic Speech Recognition. Within this past year even more advancements have been made that result in improved recognition accuracy as well as the level of complexity the apps can be at and be compatible with the phone. This has resulted in the company hosting internal evaluations. The object was to compare the AVRS technology with products thought to be making use of the technology patented by the company. This unfortunately was done by other companies without the proper use of a licensing agreement. A lawyer specializing in the field of patents was brought on board to look over what AVRS came up with. At present the company continues to work with voice recognition technology and towards developing interface and app solutions. AVRS still holds out hope that its previously noted Continuation In Part patent application would only increase the capabilities of the AVRS mobile technology and the company's position. The application for this was submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 24, 2011. This would be just another way in which the company could introduce the newest in cutting edge technology that can enhance recognition, especially for the use of mobile devices.

Looking into the Future

The release that was issued by AVRS contained the “forward looking statements” that fell under the meaning as outlined by the federal securities law. This was to be in accordance with the future plans and the anticipated performance of the AVRS company. These future plans and anticipated performance evaluations could only be done using what the company deems reasonable. In other words, the comments made in the statement in relation to the outcome of the Interference and pending voice recognition patent are still subject to risks as well as uncertainties. These could, of course, cause the outcome and happenings to differ from those expected. This is certainly true of litigation as the outcome can never truly be predicted ahead of time. The readers of the original released statement were urged not to put too much reliance on the forward looking statements as anything could alter or result from the litigation and pending patent.

Speech Technology Continues to Make Advancements

Peter — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:47:47 +0000

While we may not be at the level with speech technology and voice recognition software to where we have systems like HAL from the movie 2001, recent advancements have really shown how far this technology has come. All of this has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time too. It also seems the more this technology and software advances, the quicker new advances are made as engineers better understand ways to improve upon what already exists. Part of this is also because the number of ways in which speech technologies and voice recognition software could be implemented is being discovered. Students can use this for writing reports or drivers can use it to write and send text all while doing it hands free. From call centers to hospitals jobs, entire workforces can benefit and see things running more smoothly by introducing state of the art speech technologies.

Where You Find It Now

Ever play with Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox or Wii? If so you have used voice recognition software. Of course, think of when you first used it, which was probably when calling your bank, credit card company or some other type of call center. You probably remember the frustration of an automated operator asking you to state the reason for your call. After you spoke, there was a pause and then many times the automated voice would repeat back to you something that you did not say. People who think of only that type of experience tend to think voice recognition software still has a long way to go. While this may be true, especially in certain instances, the thing is it is always more complicated when working with more than one voice. In other words, if you have a voice technology system you use for your texting, the software actually grows to understand and recognize your individual voice. For use in a situation like a call center, each voice is different, which poses more of a challenge for the system to distinguish what is being said.

Common Uses

More and more households are getting systems that use voice recognition software and speech technology. As if the remote control was too much work, many consumers have opted for consoles in which the users simply give their television voice commands to operate the TV and viewing selection. Even to simply pause a movie in mid-play, the viewer can command the television to “pause” or “stop.” The same thing goes for smart phones. Users can give commands such as “open Google search” and also give commands to find a nearby movie theater or look up a type of bird. Whatever you want to do online, you can do from this type of smart phone thanks to advances in speech technology and voice recognition software. Thanks to this type of technology, consumers and users are gaining the benefits of user friendly systems, not to mention avoiding things such as accidents due to texting while driving.

Small Practices Get Boost from Nuance Communications

Peter — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 18:00:31 +0000

In an effort to reach out and improve the functionality of smaller medical practices, Nuance Communications has designed and released a new speech technology program. The Dragon Medical Practice Edition is the latest advancement in the company's medical voice recognition solutions. The purpose of the Dragon Medical Practice Edition is to enable clinicians to create medical notes and have them go directly into the EHR or Electronic Health Records system. This can also be done in real time with this program. The voice recognition system means clinicians are more readily available to their patients. These professionals can spend more time interacting with their patients instead of sacrificing this in order to save time for writing chart notes. The new release of this software is reported to be at least a 15 percent increase over previous versions. This means the efficiency, accuracy and added benefits are especially beneficial and crucial to small medical practices.

What It All Means

The bottom line is that the Dragon Medical Practice Edition presents a cost-effective approach to helping small medical offices be able to directly have data go to EHR. Not only that but it acts as a reliable solution to getting this particular task done. This should help alleviate some of the legal, financial and technology hindrances that can get in the way of small practices being able to operate the way they should. It is a good way for Nuance Communications to be able to reach out and extend a helping hand to physicians in smaller practices. The figures for the results are a bit surprising. According to a representative at Nuance Communications, the new system can help more than 20 percent of smaller medical offices make the switch to using EHR. This also results in these offices saving as much as $10,000 annually per clinician. The reason for the savings is that the Electronic Health Records system greatly lowers the expense for medical transcribing.

Other Positive Side Effects

The new Dragon Medical Practice Edition reduces the amount of time it takes to get medical reports back. Additionally this system also helps increase the level of comprehensiveness for patient's medical records, which results in vastly improved accuracy. So far, the feedback and reviews from small medical practices that have made the switch has been more than favorable. Physicians and clinicians both agree the Dragon Medical Practice Edition by Nuance Communications is helping alter the way their patients are being seen. It enables users to document what their patient has to say and then have it documented thanks to speech-to-text capabilities. This results in much more detail being included in the patient’s records and enables the medical professional to actually have more attention to focus on the patient. Also without having to take notes or try to jot things down after, the patients are granted more time and can feel more important. Some of the updates to this version of the software includes enhanced speech recognition abilities and has better filtering in place for better sound quality and distinction to transcribe speech-to-text.

Speech Technology Excellence Award Winners Announced

Peter — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:58:52 +0000

The 2011 Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine Speech Technology Award Winners were recently announced. These awards are generally greeted with much respect as the magazine that issues them has been publishing for almost 30 years. Just a year shy of three decades, and Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine has been writing about customer relationship management, call centers and tele-service this entire span of time. This year's awards put the spotlight on organizations that have led the industry by having a great impact on the field of speech technology and applications for consumers. This includes designing or improving upon things such as voice recognition software. Overall those companies chosen demonstrated a real contribution and dedication to improving speech technology during the course of the year.

About the Judges and the Winners

The editors of the Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine choose who receives this award. Winners are companies that have created outstanding products for the world of speech technology. These are also creations in which there are obvious capabilities that exceed others as well as the industry minimum standards. Above all else, these award winners are shining examples of companies that worked to improve services and products for their customers. The Speech Technology Award is a way to acknowledge those who have contributed to the field of speech technology by giving their clients a competitive edge in the call center industry. One of the award winners this year was the Angel company for their Angel Mobile Virtual Call center. Also included in the roster was Delta Electronics, Inc. for the Humanized Intelligent Voice Engagement, HIVE solution. Resolvity Inc. was a Speech Technology Award winner for the Resolvity Speech Applications Platform. Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine also acknowledged UTOPY with an award for the company's UTOPY SpeechMiner. There were a few others in addition to these as well.

About Customer Interaction Solutions

The magazine first started in 1982 and has been offering its readers important industry news all these years. This magazine has been a way for readers to stay connected and understand what's happening in the world of speech technology and other topics relating to Customer Relationship Management or CRM, call centers and teleservices. This publication has played a vital role in helping the industry grow and advance. It has also been part of what has enabled these industries to thrive and therefore make contributions to the global economy. Customer Interaction Solutions magazine has always been known to offer up straight forward, hard hitting and forward thinking editorial. Readers also hear from some of the lead voices in the industry through interviews or contributing articles. The magazine also covers many of the outstanding leaders and strong management figures in these industries. It is no wonder receiving the Speech Technology Award is such a prestigious honor for an organization, and those who receive one get plenty of attention for it. All of this is what makes Customer Interaction Solutions a magazine that helps set and maintain the highest industry standards.

Latest Trend in Speech Technology for Smartphones

Peter — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:56:16 +0000

At this moment, engineers are working towards making more advancements in speech technology to make voice recognition software compatible for more uses. A future of being able to use speech recognition to operate so many aspects of our personal and professional lives seems to be right around the corner. Since its initial invention, the advancements have started to become quicker and with greater improvements. There are others, however, who are working solely on getting the already existing and operating voice recognition systems enhanced. For systems such as automotive or smartphones, the software may already be in place and fully functional but can always be taken farther and improved upon. There are of course glitches in already existing voice recognition software applications that need to be tweaked.

The Present and the Future

Most consumers still complain that the most vital thing to be improved upon is the enhanced ability for the system to distinguish what is being said. Also users hope to see enhancements when it comes to how the software listens and picks up sounds. As it currently stands, most systems are still to sensitive to background or interference noises. As far as recent advancements and those still coming soon, the speech technology for smartphones has really started to be improved upon. This has a great deal to do with the depth in which the technology is embedded for both the OS, operating systems and the hardware. Gone are the days when voice recognition for smartphones was strictly a method in which users could turn speech-to-text. All in all smartphones are being improved upon to help users connect faster to the exact data or results they want. This is done by utilizing natural language processing and also cloud computing, which has also grown in popularity as of late. Not to mention the systems will also use semantic analysis. One reason speech can be a better shortcut for using your smartphone is that voice commands will enable users to locate things one may not be able to locate while conducting a touch pad or keyboard typed search.

Understanding the Concepts

To understand how voice recognition enhancements can be improved upon, you have to know about semantic analysis and natural language processing. Natural language processing is an area of computer science as well as linguistics that focuses on communication and languages between humans and computers. Simply put, it is an area that, when improved upon, helps the lines of communication between computers and their users work better. Semantic analysis is actually a stage of the natural language processing work. This follows parsing and includes the extraction of context-independent parts of the meaning behind a sentence. Using all of this together is how voice recognition software is designed and also how it can be improved upon. This applies to smartphones as well as other areas of usage for speech technology.

Phillips’ Launches Mac Speech Compatible SpeechControl Software

Peter — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:53:24 +0000

The latest update in the free Phillips' SpeechControl Software works with the Mac operating systems. The software was created with the ability to integrate the Phillips' dictation microphone to use with Mac operating systems in mind. The Phillips' Speech Processing organization is a producer of mobile and immobile dictation systems alike. The SpeechControl4Mac was recently released and enables users to integrate the Phillips' SpeechMike with Mac OS or operating systems. Users can also use the new software to configure their own SpeechMike dictation mic and tailor it to their own specifications. Being able to do so makes using this new program a truly enhanced user experience with better results than before. The company realized the need to provide businesses with something that would seamlessly integrate the two products, especially in light of the huge increase in companies using Apple products to conduct business.

Other Details of the SpeechControl

Phillips' is a company that prides itself on listening to the needs of their clients. Not only that but this is an organization that wants to predict these needs, meet them and excel at doing so. Phillips' already has a Windows user friendly version in place, so this one for Mac is the latest in speech technology advancements. Users may enjoy the two modes for recording the SpechControl for Mac offers. The options include record toggle or push to talk. Not only that, but users can switch between both Mac and Windows with great ease.

About Mac Speech

Those who want to use one of the most reputable names in the speech technology industry for Speech-to-Text software can now rely on Mac. Mac Speech is speech recognition software for Mac that enables users to do other things aside from speech-to-text or text-to-speech operations. For instance, this voice recognition software enables people to open and close applications or open, create and send documents just to name a few things. If you can command your system to do it by other means, it can be done using voice recognition. You can improve upon your speech recognition commanding abilities by getting updates or software that has improved and enhanced abilities. This is the best way to make your Mac more productive and make it work for you. You can have better flexibility with document creation and formatting. There are plenty of ways in which the Mac Speech can be used to improve your personal or professional life and the way you use your Mac.

The Final Word

Whichever software you choose that is compatible with the Mac Speech is up to you. While Phillips' SpeechControl software offers users the chance to download a free version, some feel it is not as efficient as many that cost a nominal amount to get what you really need from Mac Speech compatible software. Also for those who use their Mac Speech a great deal to help run a business or as part of their job, a more efficient type of Mac Speech voice recognition software may be appropriate.

Two Latest Advancements in Speech Recognition

Peter — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:49:43 +0000

This has already been a month with multiple advancements in voice recognition software and speech technology. The great thing is that now that these systems have begun to make such huge strides in development, improving upon them is that much easier. Also as advancements are made, the costs will be driven down and more companies and consumers will be able to afford to implement it into their personal and professional lives.

VoiceHub Advances into the Future

Located in Birmingham, Alabama, the small start up organization known as VoiceHub is looking to launch a new service utilizing speech technology and plans to do so the beginning of the new year. Their service is cloud based and lets businesses up to medium size immediately set up a phone answering system for business calls. The system acts as an answering service that takes inbound calls. The technology determines what the caller is asking for and redirects the call to a mobile phone or VoIP device. One of the founders assured the public the system would be easy to use and the recognition software in place would be more efficient than systems have been up to this point. Also by using this type of voice recognition phone answering system, businesses will avoid the kind of expense that was previously involved in such systems. Nor is it too pricy when compared to setting up a traditional call center. With this system, companies also get call recording, voice prompts, routing for calls and voicemail. Going further with the speech technology, VoiceHub also includes voicemail to email transcribing. By taking advantage of this system, businesses can look, sound and act much more professional. This will enable even small businesses to be taken more seriously. One of the best features is that because this is a cloud based system, you do not even need to have a phone system in place, nor add one at any point if you do not want or need it. All one needs is mobile phones or VoIP in place to take advantage of this service.

LumenVox's Text-to-Speech

For years LumenVox has been strictly focused on developing and improving its speech recognition engine. Just recently the organization branched out after high demand from their clients and added text-to-speech engine. At the time of writing, LumenVox offers either male or female TTS voice options . Also users can choose from English or Spanish. The company hopes to add more language choices soon including Australian English, French and German. This branch of voice recognition software and speech technology transforms written text into spoken word. The LumenVox TTS Server is often used for telephone systems, automotive applications and systems set up to help assist those with disabilities. The TTS server was created to be compatible with the LumenVox Server. This advancement in speech technology also includes an extension of the LumenVox C and C++ application programming interface. So far, feedback from users has been mostly positive, and any glitches that may exists should be worked out soon.

Is Amazon Getting Ready to Compete with Siri?

Peter — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:03:47 +0000

Although Amazon tried to keep the deal a quiet one, it turns out the internet shopping guru has recently acquired speech-to-text software developer Yap. This has, of course, sparked a surge of buzz and rumors that assume Amazon's plans are to try to compete against Apple's Siri personal assistant speech technology. The deal actually went through just a couple of months ago, but Amazon.com has still failed to make a public announcement about it. The actual finding was unearthed by The Atlantic, which discovered that Yap had been listed as part of a merger with a company listed as Dion Acquisition Sub. The address for the company name was the same as the legal team that is Amazon's. All of this was part of an SEC filing that the publication stumbled across. The secrecy is what really leads many to believe the intentions were to keep this deal under wraps until further development would get Yap ready to be the stiff competition to Siri.

About Yap

Yap was founded in '06 by a man by the name of Igor Jablakov. Jablakov was once part of the engineering team that worked on speech recognition technologies for IBM. By '08 Yap reported $6.5 million Series A financing. Only a few shorts months ago, Yap did ended production for the Yap Voicemail application. Many speculators have deducted that the Yap acquisition would enable Amazon to introduce voice recognition services as part of the company's mobile shopping apps. This could also be beneficial to Amazon's Kindle e-Reader solutions. This would all make the search for products on the megastore site or text on the Kindle e-Reader that much easier. It would be too late in the game for the Kindle Fire tablet to include a microphone into its design as the tablet is set to be released and hit the market soon. Of course, one solution to this is that smartphones, which do use parts of the applications, include microphones.

Siri Comprehension Course

To understand what it is Amazon may be competing with Apple over when it comes to voice recognition, one has to know a little about Siri. For Apple iPhone 4S and newer models, Siri is what makes it possible for users to utilize natural spoken language. Natural spoken language is the communication process through which humans and technology work. By using natural spoken language, users can gain access to certain things and perform certain activities such as all the main functions used for smartphones. This would include but not be limited to adding or locating contacts, doing a mobile search or composing and sending messages. Apple's Siri technology conducts what is like an analyzable breakdown of the verbal search queries to translate them and transform them into web searches. Siri is basically considered a personal assistant that takes your voice recognition commands to help you find what you need on your smartphone. Whether or not Amazon has any cards up its sleeve when it comes to wanting to compete with Siri is still yet to be determined. If not, however, the recent acquiring of Yap sure remains the one thing that will make people continue to speculate about it.

Voice Recognition Software Gets Praise

Peter — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:47:34 +0000

Newer developments in voice recognition software have created reason for this technology to get praise. Unfortunately, a good majority of the public isn't even really aware of what it is or how it works. To understand why voice recognition software is such a big deal, it is important to have an idea of what it is and what it does. For this reason, many people have no idea of the importance or significance it holds.

Pros and Cons of this Software

Voice recognition software identifies the user's voice to operate something or to transform spoken word into an electronic document. One of the biggest advantages of voice recognition software is also the main reason it gets used. Most people use it because you can operate a computer by simply speaking to it. This is the type of software that is commonly used in vehicles. In an office or school environment, one of the main benefits of using software that is voice recognition activated is that you free up workspace and help make it clutter free and wireless as possible. This is also a way to perform tasks such as dictating texts. This type of software makes writing more efficient because it also helps eliminate issues such as spelling problems or difficulties reading or transcribing from handwritten notes. Of course, that is only if the system understands or recognizes the word, which is one of the drawbacks. Another issue with voice recognition software is that it can be difficult to utilize in a setting such as a classroom or similar settings where there may be noise interference. Also this type of software uses a great deal of memory for file storage.

Other Details about Voice Recognition

This type of software is great for those who need to dictate a good amount of data in a short period of time or for those who may have learning disabilities. It makes it possible to bypass the use of a keyboard altogether. One problem is that the software has to be trained to correctly identify the users voice and certain words, which can be time consuming. On average, a voice recognition software program will still get anywhere from five to 20 percent of the words wrong. When you use this software as a student, for example, you can make writing reports an easy task without worrying as much about spelling, but grammar is still something you must know well. With the right kind of software, you can actually get the results read back to you so you can proofread more easily. From here, though, you still must edit. It can be frustrating because some errors are just from the software being unfamiliar with a word or your voice. More than likely, you will need to upgrade your memory and you may also need additional hardware to meet the software's requirements. With time and advancements in technology, the software will surely get even more accurate and user friendly. For now, though, even at the current level with margin for error, voice recognition software is a useful and fairly efficient tool to have.