Voice Portals: The next
generation Speech Recognition Application
Instructor
Cristina Dobrin
Postal address: Iso Roobertinkatu 8 B 12, FIN-00120, Helsinki, Finland
Phone number: +358 40 525 8936
Fax number: +358 9 5116 8467
E-mail address: cristina.dobrin@nokia.com
Tutorial Presentation
So far, Speech Recognition has been used over the telephone with
limited success. The technology has improved a lot, the recognition
rates approach 100%, the reliability has increased considerably, the
cost of it has decreased steadily and the search for new ideas for
services is always on. But the real revolution it seems to becoming
from the combination of the power of the telephone (speech) and Internet
(data) networks, that will provide access to the content.
This tutorial will describe the technologies that are making the voice
portals the next big opportunity on the Web. The VoiceXML, which represents
the standard way to encode the speech interaction between the user
and the system, will be briefly discussed. The tutorial will show
how conventional telephony platforms and data services can be combined
in different ways each having its strengths and weaknesses, to provide
anytime-anywhere access to information. Next, some of the major players
in this exciting new market will be presented. Finally some words
about the challenges and opportunities that voice portals will open
for consumers and businesses.
Outline
1. Introduction
Definitions
Reach of the telephone vs. PC
Need for access
Improvements in the area of Speech Recognition
2. Speech Technology Outline
Small, Medium and Large Vocabulary
Isolated, Connected, Continuous Speech Recognition
Speaker-dependent and Speaker Independent Models
Natural Language Understanding
Dialogue Modeling
VoiceXML
Text-to-Speech Synthesis, Natural Language Generation
Speaker Identification, Speaker Recognition
3. Speech Technology Integration to Computer Telephony Platforms
Distributed Speech Recognition
Building Speech Applications (use of ready made libraries, connection
with content)
System Deployment
Voice-enabling the web
4. Speech Voice Interfaces (Applications) in the Telecom Network
Usability Issues
Directory Assistance
Voice Activated Dialing
Customer Service
Voice Portal: The new buzz word?
5. Why now
Market deregulation
Maturing of Speech Technology
6. Major Players in the Voice Portal market
Voice Portals: BeVocal, HeyAnita, Mobilee, NetByTel, Omnitel, AOL
By Phone (Quack.com)
ST Vendors: Nuance, SpeechWorks, LocusDialogue, Philips Speech Processing
Server Solutions: IBM Voice Systems, Lucent Speech Solutions, Comverse
Network Systems, Genie Technologies
Board Vendors: Intel/Dialogic, Natural Microsystems
7. Challenges and Opportunities
8. What's next
Intended Audience
This tutorial is intended for people who would like to know what
are the fundamentals of Speech Technology, what are its main areas
of applications, the current and future use of this exciting technology.
Also, telecom network integration aspects will be reviewed. Last,
the challenges and opportunities faced by the players in this field
will be presented.
Background required: basics of signal processing, telecommunication
networks and software technology.
Author Presentation
1 Contact Information
Name: Cristina Dobrin
Postal address: Iso Roobertinkatu 8 B 12, FIN-00120, Helsinki, Finland
Phone number: +358 40 525 8936
Fax number: +358 9 5116 8467
E-mail address: cuc@pp.htv.fi (before April 1st), cristina.dobrin@nokia.com
(after April 1st)
2 Brief CV
C. Dobrin graduated from University 'Politehnica' of Bucharest, Faculty
of Electronics and Telecommunications in 1993. After being awarded
a Tempus scholarship at the Digital Media Institute of Tampere University
of Technology, Finland she obtained a Licentiate degree in the field
of speech recognition in 1995. She worked as a research engineer at
the Speech Processing Laboratory at Nokia Research Center Tampere
and from 1999 at Nokia Networks Helsinki as Product Manager for Speech
Technology in the Platform Product Management Division, Application
Platforms Group.
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