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.
