Type Less, Talk More - Voice-Recognition Software Evolves into a Productive Interface Manitowoc WI

Posted by : Molly Joss

If you're eager to make your voice heard in the world, you'll be interested in the latest generation of voice-recognition software (VRS) products. They're easier to use and less expensive than ever before. It will take some time to train them to respond correctly to you, but if you're persistent, you can use your voice to control your computer and to produce your letters, e-mails, and other written materials.

The magic in the box

All desktop recognition programs work the same way--by playing a matching game. The first step in the game is for you to talk to the computer, usually while wearing a headset with a built-in microphone, which comes with the software. As you speak, the voice-recognition software digitizes the sounds coming into the computer via the microphone attached to the sound card.

Then it tries to match the digital pattern of the sounds with a library of digital sounds it already has (each program comes with hundreds of thousands of words in digital form and your words are added to the collection). If it can make a good match from a pattern in the library, that's the word it picks to display on screen. Game over. If it can't make a match, it may take a guess or indicate it doesn't understand what you're saying. Your options are to try again until it understands, or to start typing.

Because the software needs a comprehensive library of digital sound patterns for this matching game, you will have to train the software ...

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