Speech Recognition Software Review - Call Center … recognition software can be incorporated into all of our lives. We have all seen the commercials for speech recognition software

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Contents

1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ 2

2 About Speech Recognition Software .................................................................................................... 3

3 How to Choose Speech Recognition Software ..................................................................................... 4

3.1 Standard Features of Speech Recognition Software ..................................................................... 4

3.2 Definitions ..................................................................................................................................... 4

3.3 Models .......................................................................................................................................... 5

3.3.1 VoxForge ................................................................................................................................ 5

3.3.2 Dragon ................................................................................................................................... 6

3.3.3 Mac Speech Scribe ................................................................................................................ 6

3.3.4 Siri ......................................................................................................................................... 7

3.3.5 Speaktoit ............................................................................................................................... 8

3.3.6 Windows Speech Recognition ............................................................................................... 8

3.3.7 VoiceFinger ............................................................................................................................ 9

3.3.8 Tazti ....................................................................................................................................... 9

3.3.9 VoxCommando .................................................................................................................... 10

4 Speech Recognition Software Matrix ................................................................................................. 11

4.1 Capabilities .................................................................................................................................. 11

4.2 Pricing .......................................................................................................................................... 12

4.3 Contact ........................................................................................................................................ 12

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1 Abstract

Thepurposeofthispaperistoinformconsumersaboutdifferenttypesofspeechrecognitionsoftware.Thefollowingpagehasorganizedinformationaboutspeechrecognitionaswellassoftwarecomparisonsofsomeoftheleadingprovidersintheindustry.Yearsago,theideathatonecouldcontrolamachinesimplybyspeakingtoitwasathingofsciencefiction.Today,thistechnologyispossibleandreadilyavailableformassmarkets.Thesoftwarerangesfromthesimple,whichconsistsofsimplevoice‐to‐textfeatures,tothemorecomplexsoftwaredesignedforbusinesses,withtheabilitytounderstandcomplicatedcommandsandfilloutformsontheinternet.Suitableforbusinesses,students,orhomeuse,speechrecognitionsoftwarecanmakedauntingtaskssimpler.Althoughmostofthesesoftwareproviderspromotetheirsoftwareasawaytoboostproductivitythereissomeevidencesupportingthecontraryargument.Decideforyourself,canspeechrecognitionsoftwaremakethingseasierforyou?

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2 AboutSpeechRecognitionSoftware

Advancementsinspeechrecognitionsoftwarehavealteredthewaypeopleusecomputersandothermachines.Thedevelopmentofspeechrecognitiontechnologybeganinthe1950swithsuccessfulattemptstohaveacomputerunderstandspokenwordnumbers.ThissystemwascreatedbyBellLaboratoriesandwascalledtheAudreysystem.Abouttenyearslater,IBMcreatedamachinethatcouldunderstandsixteenEnglishwords.

Overthenexttwodecades,significantstridesinthistechnologyweremadewhichresultedinmachinesthatcouldunderstandoverathousandwords.Inthe1990s,speechrecognitionsoftwarebecomemoreaccessibleandusableforthemassmarket.Dragonwasthefirstcompanytoproducesuchaproductavailabletothepublicforapriceofninethousanddollars.Thingshavechangedsignificantlysincethatfirstattemptatintegratingspeechrecognitionsoftwareintoeverydaylife.

Today,speechrecognitionsoftwarecanevenbedownloadedfreeorcomestandardwithcellphones.Thesetypesofsoftwarebasicallyworkbytakingnaturallanguage,spokenwordsorcommandsandtranslatingthemintoalanguageeasilyunderstoodbythecomputer.Thisoccurswhenthecomputerpicksupyourvoicethroughamicrophoneandthenconvertsyourvoiceintoananalogsignal.Itisthenprocessedbyyourcomputer’ssoundcardandfromthereistranslatedintoabinarycodesothatyourcomputercanunderstandit.Throughthatprocess,thesoftwareeitherturnsthevoicetotextorusesittocarryouttheconsumerscommand.

Speechrecognitionsoftwarecanhelpawiderangeofpeoplefromthebusyteenager,tothedisabled.Disabledindividuals,whoareunabletooperatecomputersthroughmouseorkeyboarduse,cannowcontroltheircomputerswitheaseandconfidence.Softwareisnowavailablethatsupportscompletelyhands‐freecontrollingfromeverythingtocomputergamestosendingimportantbusinessemails.Theoptiontoaskyourcomputerhowtoperformtaskscanhelpthosewhohavetroubleusingcomputers.

Speechrecognitionsoftwarecanbeincorporatedintoallofourlives.Wehaveallseenthecommercialsforspeechrecognitionsoftware,adepictionofacollegestudentwritinganentirepaperjustbyspeakingintotheirPC,orabusymomaskingSiritosetareminderforanimportantevent.Speechrecognitionisapartofmanypeople'severydaylifeandmaybeitistimeforyoutodiscoverhowitcanmakeyourlifeeasier.

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3 HowtoChooseSpeechRecognitionSoftware

Thereareafewkeythingstokeepinmindwhenchoosingaspeechrecognitionsoftware:

DoIneedthissoftwareforworkorhomeuse?

DoIneedapersonalassistanttypeofsoftwarethatwillbeabletohelpmeonthego?

Howimportantisvoicetotextaccuracy?

AmIwillingtospendalotofmoneyonthissoftware?

WhattypeofoperatingsystemdoIhave?

DoIwanttousethissoftwareforgaming?

Askyourselfthesequestionsbeforepurchasingspeechrecognitionsoftware.Dependingonyourspecificneeds,youmaywanttopurchaseahigh‐endsoftwarewithguaranteedaccuracy,orspeechrecognitionsoftwareprimarilyusedinyourhomeforentertainmentpurposes.Forquicknotesandinformationonthego,anappforyoursmartphonecouldbeperfect.Therearemanyappsavailableatappstore.SpeaktoitandVlingoareamongthehighestratedfreevirtualassistantapps.Therearemanydifferentsoftwareproviders,somesoftwareisdesignedforspecificoperatingsystemsordevices,sobesuretoreadthefineprint.

3.1 StandardFeaturesofSpeechRecognitionSoftware

SupportsMultipleLanguages

SimpleDictation

GrammarChecks

EasyInstallationandSetup

AbilitytoUnderstandaWideRangeofAccentsandDialects

CommandsCompatible

3.2 Definitions

AcousticModel–Thisisusedtounderstandspeechandcommandsinspeechrecognitionsoftware.Anaudiorecordingofawordcompliedwithatexttranscriptofthatsamewordcreatesrepresentationsofthewaylettersandwordssound.

GPL–StandsforGeneralPublicLicense.Itisasoftwarelicensethatgivestheconsumertherighttouseandmodifythesoftwareforpersonalorprofessionuseinwhateverwaytheyseefit.

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VoiceUsersInterfaces–Theinterfacethatallowsmachinestobecontrolledbyahumanvoice.Theplatformthatprocessesverbalcommandsandtranslatesthemintoalanguageacomputercanunderstand.

VoiceCommands–Requestsverbalizedbytheuserofthesoftware.Forexample:Openemail.CallDave.Thesecommandscanbeeasilyfollowedbymanyofthevoicerecognitionsoftwareavailabletoday.

Dictation–Theprocessbywhichyourspokenwordsarerecordedintoatextdocument.

LanguageModel–Awayofdeterminingwhatwordsorlettersarebeingspokenbytheuseofaprobabilityformula.

NaturalLanguage–Referstoorganiclanguagesspokenamonghumansasopposedtounnaturallanguages,forexamplethelanguageinwhichcomputersprocesscommands.

SpeechAccuracy–Themeasuringofhowprecisethesoftwareiswhenitcomestounderstandinganddictatingexactlywhattheusersays.

Hands‐FreeComputing–Theprocessofcompletingcomputertaskswithouthavingtophysicallytouchthemouseorkeyboard.

Personal/VirtualAssistant–Intheworldofspeechrecognitionsoftware,theterm“personalassistant”or“virtualassistant”referstosoftwarethehastheabilitytoreplaceoractasapersonalassistanttotheconsumerwithprocessessuchassettingappointments,takingnotes,andfactchecking.

SpeechCorpus–Allavailablefiles,spokenwordfilesandtextthatareusedtocreateanextensivedatabaseofwordsrecognizedbythesoftware.

Voice‐to‐Text–Theprocessinwhichaperson’sspokenwordsaretransformedintotextinatextdocument,email,orform.

Transcription–Turninghumanlanguageintocomputerlanguage.Itisthewayacomputerunderstandsnaturallanguage.

3.3 Models

3.3.1 VoxForge

Pros

Thissoftwareisfreeandreadilyavailableasanonlinedownload.Itiscompletewithstandarddictationandtranscriptionfeatures.

Cons

Thesoftwareisbasicandunderstandslimitedcommands.

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Conclusion

VoxForgeisgoodforbasictalktotextneeds.Thesoftwareworksbyjustsimplytranslatingyourvoice,whichisspokenthroughamicrophone,orrecordingdeviceandthenturningitintotext.ThisprogramworkswithalloperatingsystemswhetheryouhaveaMacbookoraWindowsVista.

Ifyoudonotneedalltheextrafeaturesandarejustlookingtoturnyourvoiceintotextdocuments,thisistherightsoftwareforyou.Youcandownloadthesoftwarerightfromthewebsiteandhaveitupandrunninginamatterofminutes.

Bestofall,thissoftwareistotallyfree.Othertalk‐to‐textdictationsoftwarecancostsacouplehundreddollars.Installationisquickandyoucangetstartedonthatpaper,email,noterecordingetc.rightaway.

3.3.2 Dragon

Pros

Thissoftwaredoesitallfromdictationtoguaranteedaccuracywhenitcomestovoice‐to‐text.Idealforstudentsorbusinessprofessionals.

Cons

Highercosts.

Conclusion

Createoreditdocumentswiththisperfectforschoolorworksoftware.DragonSpeechRecognitionsoftwareworkswiththeusers’voiceovertimeandcanimprove20%toeventuallyreacha99%voice‐to‐textaccuracy.Thissoftwareveryquicklytranslatesyourspokenwordsintotextdocuments.

Itispricierthansomeoftheotherspeechrecognitionsoftwareoutthere.Althoughtheirmostexpensivesoftwarecancostalmostathousanddollars,therearecheaperoptions.Theyhavesalesfromtimetotimeandoffermorebasicpackagesthatstartaroundahundreddollars.Onlinetutorialsandeasyinstallationmakethesetupforthissoftwarequickandsimple.

TherearemanydifferenttypesofsoftwareofferedbyDragon,somegearedmoretowardsspecificindustriessuchasthemedicalindustry,whileothersarebestforstudentsandwritingpapers.

3.3.3 MacSpeechScribe

Pros

Offersgrammarandspellcheck,alongwithaccuratevoice‐to‐text.Whichmakesitperfectforwritingpapersandtakingdownnotes.

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Cons

ThissoftwareisonlyavailableforMacusers.

Conclusion

MacSpeechScribeisidealforstudentsorbusinessmenandwomenwhotakemanynotes,orwritelongpapers.Thespeakercanrecordtheirvoicewithavarietyofdevicesrangingfromadigitalrecordertoacellphone.BytransferringtheirrecordedvoicefiletotheircomputerviaUSB,theusercanconvertinformationrecordedonthegointotextfiles.Thissoftwarecantranslatetheaudioreorderingintotextfiles.Whetheryouarerecordingafewquicknotesorrecordinganentirepaper,thisprogramwillworkforyou.Itisagoodwaytokeepyourfilesorganized.

Itisafairlybasicsoftware,whichisgoodbecauseitmeansitisuser‐friendly,butitislimitedinthecommandsitcanunderstandandisbestsuitedforsimpletextdocumentcreation.Unfortunately,thissoftwareisavailableonlyforMacusers.IfyouhaveaMacandarelookingforastraightforwardvoicerecognitionsoftwaretoturnyourvoiceintotext,thisisagoodoptionforyou.

3.3.4 Siri

Pros

ComesfreewiththeiPhone4s,iPhone5,iPadwithRetinadisplay,iPadmini,andthe5thgenerationiPodtouch.

Cons

Notasuser‐friendlyasitismarketedtobe.Issuesreportedwithunderstandingaccentsanddifferentdialects.

Conclusion

SiriwascreatedforthenewgenerationofiPhonesandotherappleproducts.ThegoalofpreinstallingthissoftwareontotheseproductswastomakeSiriapartoftheconsumers’everydaylife.Itisdesignedtomaketaskssimplerandtosavetime.

Sendtextmessages,lookupdirections,checkfactsonline,setreminders,setalarms,addtoyourcalendarandmore,allbyvoicewiththehelpofSiri.Thiscanbeusefulattimeswhenscrollingthroughyourcontactsortypingouttextmessagesisnotsafe.Havingtheoptiontolookupdirections,text,ormakecallswhenyouaredrivingisprobablyoneofSiri'smostuseablefeatures.

Ontheotherhand,someofthefeaturesofferedbySiriarenotalwayspracticalfortheeverydayconsumer.Oneofthemostcommoncomplaintswhenitcomestothissoftwareistheinabilitytounderstandminorchangesinapersonpronunciation.ThemarketingforSiriiswelldone,butmaybethissoftwareisnotashelpfulasweallexpected.

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3.3.5 Speaktoit

Pros

Lookupinformation,directions,sendtextmessages,updateFacebookstatusesandmore.

Cons

Onlyavailableasanappforsmartphones.

Conclusion

LookingforaSiritypesoftware,butdon'thaveaniPhone?Speaktoitisagoodappforyourphoneifyouarelookingforavirtualassistantthatmakesusingyoursmartphoneeasier.Thissoftwarecanhelpyoucompletebasictasks,suchasplacingaphonecallorsendingatextmessage.Itcanalsohelpyouwithmorecomplexoperationssuchaslookingupinformation,andsettingremindersforimportantdates.

ItisadvertisedasanalternativetotheiPhone'sSirisoftwareforandroidphones,butitisalsoavailableforiPhones.Thisisavailablefreeintheappstoreandtakesminutestodownload.Althoughthissoftwareisfreeandcanbehelpfulforthosewhoarenottotallycomfortableusingandoperatingasmartphone,mostofthefeaturesseemtobeobsolete.

MuchlikewithSiri'ssoftware,Speaktoitmaynotbepractical.Formanypeopleusingasmartphonetheamountoftimeitwouldtakethemtosendatextorsetanalarmbytouchissominimalthatiteliminatestheneedforavirtualassistant.Itmaytakemoretimetounderstandthesoftwareandtogetthecommandscorrectthanitisworth.

3.3.6 WindowsSpeechRecognition

Pros

Freesoftware.Noinstallationisrequired.

Cons

OnlyavailableforWindowsusers.

Conclusion

Perfectifyouarelookingforanefficientwaytocontrolyourcomputerwithminimalornokeyboardandmouseuse.Thissoftwareallowstheusertowritetextdocumentssuchaspapersornoteswiththeirvoice.Italsoallowstheusertobrowsethroughwebpages,writeemails,andfilloutformsontheinternet.

Anotherusefulfeatureistheabilitytoaskthesoftwareforhelp.Thissoftwarecomeswiththestandardcommandcompatiblefeaturebutoffersanadditionalcommandfeatureforthosewhoneedextraassistance.Userscansimplyaskthesoftware“HowdoI...?”Thiswillcomeinhandyfor

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thosenewtothesoftwareornewtocomputersingeneral.TheprogramisagoodalternativeforthoseinterestedinMacSpeechScribe,butdonothaveaMac.Itoffersthesamebasicvoicetotextfeatures.

OnlyavailableforWindowsusers,butunfortunatelythatdoesnotmeanallWindowsuserswillhavethissoftwarepreinstalledontheircomputers.OnlyWindowscomputerswithWindowsVistaornewerversionscomeequippedwithWindowsSpeechRecognition.

3.3.7 VoiceFinger

Pros

Inexpensivesoftware,withaneasyonlinedownload.Idealforgamers

Cons

Onlyavailableforwindowsusersanddoesnotoffergrammarchecks.

Conclusion

Thissoftwareallowsuserstocontroltheircomputerswithabsolutelynophysicalcontact.Everythingcanbecontrolledbyvoice.Othersoftwarerequiretheoccasionalclick,ortransferbetweentwoapplications,butnotVoiceFinger.

Thecompleteabilitytocontroltheprogrambyvoicemakesitidealforuserswithdisabilitieswhoareunabletocontrolacomputerbytraditionalmethodsoftypingonakeyboardorclickingtheirmouse.Thesoftwareisalsomarketedtoonlinegamers.Itisidealforseriousgamerswhoneedtomultitask.VoiceFingercancontrolgamesbyvoice,andwithinstantunderstandingandtranscription,thereisnolagtimebetweenthecommandandthecompletionofthetask.

Thesoftwaredoestakesomegettingusedto.Therearespecificcommandsrequiredtocontrolboththemouseandthekeyboard.Themousemovesbasedonagridsystem,theuserhastotellthecomputerwhichcoordinatestheywantthemousetobeat.Thekeyboardisalittlemorestraightforwardwithcommandslike“pressdown”“pressright”and“pressright”Aslongasyouhavethetimetoadapttotheprogram,itisacheapandeffectivesoftwarethatcanimproveyouroverallcomputerexperience.

3.3.8 Tazti

Pros

Controlandplaygamesusingonlyyourvoice.

Cons

OnlyavailableforWindowsusers.

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Conclusion

Taztiisacheaperalternativetobiggernamebrandspeechrecognitionsoftwareproviders.Althoughitislessexpensive,itdoesnotcheapoutontheimportantfeatures.Createdocumentsandsendemailswithyourvoice,shufflethroughsongsonyouriTunesandevenplaygamesonyourPC.

Taztiiscommandcapable,whichmeansitcanperformGooglesearchesaswellasswitchfromoneapplicationtoanother.Additionally,theusercancreatecustomcommands.Theconsumercancreateuptoseventy‐fivecustomcommandsthatdonotcomestandardwiththesoftware.Thisworksbyrecordingyourdesiredcommandandthenassociatingitwithawebpage,file,orprogramthroughthesoftwareprompts.Forexample,youcancreatethecommand“openworkemail”andassignittoadifferentemailinterfacethanyourpersonalemailaddressthatwouldopenwhenyoucommand,“openemail”.

Asofrightnow,thesoftwareisonlyavailableforWindowsVista,Windows7,andWindowsXP.Thecorrectcommandsmayalsotakesometimetomasterbutforthosewillingtospendthetimethisisagoodandinexpensivewaytocontrolyourcomputerbyvoice.

3.3.9 VoxCommando

Pros

Playgames,watchmovies,scrollthroughyouriTunes.Alsohasthecapabilitytoreadyouremailsaloud.

Cons

Notsuitedforworkplaceuse.

Conclusion

Ifyouarelookingforspeechrecognitionsoftwaretouseforhomeentertainmentpurposes,thenVoxCommandomightjustbeperfectforyou.Thissoftwareisalsosuitedtoworkwithcomputergames,playsongsfromiTunes,watchmoviesandSkypeallwithyourvoice.

VoxCommandoisnotdesignedforuseintheworkplaceorforstudents.ItdoesnotoffergrammarchecksandcanalsoonlyreadordictateemailsfromGmail.Instead,thissoftwareisdesignedasafunandeasywaytocontrolyourcomputerfromhome.Thesoftwarecomeswiththeoptiontocustomizecommands,andlikeDragon,becomesmoreaccustomedtotheusersvoiceandgrowsmoreaccurateovertime.

IfyouarestillunsureifVoxCommandoisrightforyou,don’tworry.Theyofferafreetrialontheirwebsite.Thetrialworksbyallowingtheusertotrytwenty‐fivecommands.Afterthetwenty‐fifthcommand,thetrialexpiresandyouarefreetodecideifthissoftwareisrightforyouornot.Thesoftwareisalsoadvertisedasveryuser‐friendlyandstatesthatwithagoodmicrophone,consumerscanbeginusingthesoftwareimmediatelyafterinstallation.Thereareexamplesandtutorialsonthewebsiteforthosewhomayneedalittleextrahelpfamiliarizingthemselveswiththisnewsoftware.

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4 SpeechRecognitionSoftwareMatrix

4.1 Capabilities

VoxForge DragonMac

SpeechScribe

Siri SpeaktoitWindowsSpeech

Recognition

VoiceFinger Tazti

VoxCommando

MacCompatible yes yes yes no no no no no yes

LinuxCompatible yes yes no no no no no no yes

WindowsCompatible yes yes no no no Yes‐windows

7/7+ yes

Yes‐windows7,windowsvistaand

windowsXP

yes

LargeSpeechCorpus

yes yes yes yes yes yes no yes yes

CustomizeVoiceOptions

no yes yes yes yes no yes yes yes

SpeechVerification no yes yes yes yes yes no no no

Dictation yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

ServicesforMobilePhones

no yes no yes yes no no no no

GrammarChecks yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes no

PersonalAssistant

no yes yes yes yes yes no no no

MultipleLanguagesSupport

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

CommandCompatible no yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

Free yes No no

Freewithpurchaseof

iPhone5,iPhone4S,iPadwithRetinadisplay,iPadmini,andiPodtouch(5thgeneration)

yes yes

Freeversion

available/$20

advancedversion

no no

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4.2 Pricing

VoxForge DragonMac

SpeechScribe

Siri Vlingo SpeaktoitWindowsSpeech

RecognitionVoiceFinger Tazti

VoxCommando

FreeRange

from100‐900

149.99

FreewithpurchaseofiPhone5,

iPhone4S,iPadwithRetinadisplay,iPadmini,andiPodtouch(5thgeneration)

Freeappdownloadwithany

smartphone

Freeappdownloadwithany

smartphone

FreewithWindows

Freeversionand20$advancedversion

39.99 InquireforPricing

4.3 Contact

Provider VoxForge

DragonMac

SpeechScribe

Siri Vlingo SpeaktoitWindowsSpeech

Recognition

VoiceFinger

TaztiVox

Commando

Websitehttp://www.voxforge.

org/

http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.ht

m

http://www.nuance.com/for‐

individuals/by‐

product/dragon‐for‐mac/macspeech‐

scribe/index.htm

http://www.apple.com/ios/siri

/

http://www.vlingo.co

m

http://www.speaktoit.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windowsvista/speech.aspx

http://voicefinger.cozendey.com/

http://www.tazti.c

om

http://voxcommando.c

om

ContactEmail

[email protected]

m

[email protected]

ContactPage

http://www.nuance.com/company/compa

ny‐overview/contact‐us/index.h

tm

http://www.nuance.com/company/compa

ny‐overview/contact‐us/index.h

tm

http://www.apple.com/contact

/

http://www.speaktoit.com/contact.html

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=msco

m

http://www.tazti.com/contact_us.html

Documents

Speech Recognition Software Review - Call Center … recognition software can be incorporated into all of our lives. We have all seen the commercials for speech recognition software