August/September 1997

Magazine Features

Dictation Products Break Through With More on the Horizon

Predicting the next technological breakthrough in any industry is often extremely difficult. But right now interpreting the near term future of speech recognition is pretty obvious. If the truth be known, it may not require a much more complicated thought process than a rooster goes through upon seeing the first light of the rising sun.

Headsets: An Essential Ingredient in Speech Recognition

One of the most practical considerations to the end user for making speech technology work is the effectiveness of the headset.

Knock, Knock: Who's There?

Registry Magic and KeyWare Technologies recently formed a strategic alliance that will allow users to have a natural conversation with their computer and identify themselves with voice prints.

One Number, Follow Me

Not so long ago, the venerable business card typically listed just one telephone number. Increasingly, though, today's business card is cluttered with different telephone numbers for direct line, cellular phone, pager, and sometimes even home office. All those lines - while theoretically keeping you connected - are a nuisance for customers and business associates who have to figure out which number to phone at any given time.

Put Your Best Voice Forward

Organizations everywhere are turning up the volume on speech recognition applications. Charles Schwab & Co. recently announced a new application that will recognize the spoken names of more than 13,000 stocks, mutual funds, or market indicators to provide callers with up-to-the-minute quotes. Carnegie-Mellon University is developing an application that will make Pittsburgh police officers safer drivers by enabling them to speak vehicle registration numbers into a national vehicle tracing system while they're behind the wheel.

Speech Aids People With Disabilities

Speech technology has clearly benefited from the interest of people with disabilities. It has been through their interest that many of the most useful applications in the industry have been developed.

Forward Thinking

A Rose by Any Other Name

One of the most bewildering aspects of learning about an industry or technology is navigating through a jungle of unfamiliar terminology. If you are entering the world of voice ID with existing knowledge about speech recognition, the terminology pitfalls become even more treacherous because seemingly identical labels can have incompatible meanings.