RE: Voice activation software

Hi Dianne,

As Robert noted, there is ViaVoice (and others) for voice-recognition
(dictation) software.

In your email you stated voice activation software, so I'm not sure if you
want voice-recognition software or command-and-control software. If you
are looking for command-and-control software (like what you'd see in a
Star Trek episode) then the Mac is the tool to use as the Mac OS has had
this capability in various forms since OS 7.5 (PlaintTalk and now
Speakable Items)!

I played with Speakable Items for a while when I first learned about it
and it was surprising what I could "tell" my computer to do. I could
say things like the following:

"Computer, go to the UC Berkeley home page."

And the computer would launch my browser (if not running already) and go
to the UC Berkeley home page. The system "learns" by you telling the
system to "make an item speakable." When you do that the system drops down
a dialog box where you enter (type) a name or phrase for the item you want
to be able to control. It's pretty advanced. I have no idea if something
like this exists on Windows.

More information about Speakable Items:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/speech/

-lucas

On Fri, 8 Oct 2004, Robert Hiramoto wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I've used IBM's ViaVoice 10 software at my old jobsite. This software is a
> voice-recognition software, based on the old DragonSpeak engine. It's main
> use was to allow dictation into a pc.
>
> The product worked fairly well, but the software does require significant
> training to achieve any kind of accuracy. The version I used came with a
> lower-model Plantronics headset that was a bit uncomfortable to wear for
> more than one hour. You can purchase a higher model headset, that will be
> more comfortable, such as the Plantronics DSP-550.
>
> To train the software, one user (and this is specific to each user) must
> read a number of paragraphs to the software upon initial installation. This
> can take up to 30 minutes, as some of the passages are very long.
>
> Then, after this initial training, you can start using the program. At
> first the program will make a number of mistakes, and you must correct these
> by hand. The program claims to learn from it's mistakes, and should be able
> to recognize your speech patterns more accurately, with more use.
>
> I finally gave up on the software, as it would not work for a project that I
> was evaluating it for.
>
> The main problem was that each user has to train the software. If you will
> be the only user of the software, you may have better results.
>
> If anyone has any questions about this software, please feel free to contact
> me.
>
> ~Robert
>
>
> Robert Hiramoto
> IT Manager
> Institute of Industrial Relations
> Voice (510) 643-3903
> Fax (510) 642-6432
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-micronet-list@lists.berkeley.edu
> [mailto:owner-micronet-list@lists.berkeley.edu] On Behalf Of Dianne Walker
> Sent: Thursday, October 07, 2004 5:38 PM
> To: micronet-list@listtest.berkeley.edu
> Subject: [Micronet] Voice activation software
>
> Micronetters,
>
> I'm looking into voice activation software and am hoping that any of you
> with experience with this can point me in some useful directions. I'm just
> starting, so am not even entirely aware of what the concerns may be.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Dianne
>
> Dianne Walker
> IST - Associate Vice Chancellor's Office UC Berkeley
> 273 Evans Hall
> (510) 643-0290
> fax: (510) 643-5385
> dwalker@berkeley.edu
>
>
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Received on Fri Oct 8 14:18:12 2004