23
Sat, Nov
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. MORE
  4. Commentary
  5. Analysis of News Events
  6. After Three Decades, Is Highly Accurate Speech Recognition Finally Here?

After Three Decades, Is Highly Accurate Speech Recognition Finally Here?

Analysis of News Events
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

 

Visitors to IBM's China Research Lab are "startled" by what they see.

 

I have tried many of the speech recognition products over the years, and I hear people like Dan Poynter, the dean of self-publishing, tell how he writes books in a matter of hours talking into a microphone while using speech recognition software. Could this really be possible? Whether or not it was in years past, apparently it finally is possible today, according to reports coming out of the IBM China Research Lab in Beijing.

 

Scientists at the lab reportedly have perfected speech-to-text technology; all audio over the airwaves and audio/video files on the Internet (such as TV, and radio, and YouTube) can be converted to text. The reason this is important to more than just authors and the disabled is that by having the ability to convert speech to text accurately, the material now can be indexed, searched, and retrieved. Stored video clips, for example, would be easy to find. It also means that the text can be translated into other languages with a high level of accuracy.

 

IBM has been working on speech recognition technology for some three decades now and continues to see promise in the technology, though the company may have spent far more on research than it has yet realized from commercial adoption of the resulting products. Last January, the company sold rights to its ViaVoice technology to Nuance, owner of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, which actively promotes its Windows and Mac OS speech-recognition products to businesses and consumers. There is a broad embedded market for speech recognition technology as well, and Nuance sells its own licenses to companies that wish to incorporate speech recognition into their solutions. A related emerging market can be seen in the area of security and conversational biometrics, in which a person's voice patterns are used to establish identity.

IBM China Research Laboratory

In a recent article in The Atlantic, staff writer James Fallows describes the time he and his wife visited IBM's China Research Laboratory and saw a product demo that "startled" him.

 

"My wife and I were the only native speakers of English in the room. But when each of us spoke into the voice recognition system, it produced nearly perfect real-time versions of what we said," reports Fallows. He then describes how he tried the system first by speaking with deliberate clarity, but then gave it a more challenging run-through by speaking in a "fast, conversational speed." With the exception of a made-up word he included, Fallows' 28-word sentence displayed on the computer screen exactly as he spoke it.

 

Scientists in the lab already are using the system internally to help with communications between China and Armonk, N.Y. Though everyone at the lab speaks English, discussions with those in the U.S. are facilitated by having a near real-time English transcription running across the bottom of the screen, something that greatly helps comprehension.

 

The objective of speech recognition is to enable easy access to the full range of computer services without having to type or use one's hands. IBM Research Lab in Haifa has been working on what it calls distributed speech recognition (DSR) to provide a client/server standards-based DSR framework for deploying speech-enabled applications and services over today's mobile networks.

Mature Technology

This writer has been following various implementations of speech recognition technology over the years and has tried IBM's ViaVoice product (now marketed by Nuance), along with earlier iterations of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. Although Microsoft has included a speech recognition engine in the Vista operating system, the problem with the technology to date is that it has been so fraught with errors that no person who has a serious interest in using it for business could afford to fiddle with it. Today's Google Voice may be an example of this dilemma.

 

What appears to be happening today, however, is the technology is maturing and accuracy levels are high enough to satisfy everyone's expectations. We're not so sure about Google's engine, but after Nuance's acquisition of IBM's ViaVoice source code, Nuance has the opportunity to merge the best parts of ViaVoice with the Dragon engine. While that may or may not be practical, I can attest to the fact that Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 is a useful and practical product, which I could not say about V9. From what Fallows has written about the achievements in IBM's China Research Laboratory, it appears that IBM--despite the deal with Nuance--has continued to work on speech recognition and has taken the technology to yet another level of accuracy.

Embedded ViaVoice

As early as 2001, IBM released IBM Embedded ViaVoice for delivering voice technologies to mobile devices. The application gave developers the ability to develop robust mobile speech solutions. Winner of the Speech Technology magazine 2007 Market Leader Award, Embedded ViaVoice is behind many of today's small mobile devices and automotive telematics systems. Developers can provide users with voice access to information on mobile devices and hands-free phones. The solutions are fully integrated with the devices' telephony features and offer automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech capabilities. The ViaVoice application helps minimize skills and time needed to develop advanced voice recognition solutions for devices and systems.

 

The WebSphere Voice Server extension advances IBM's speech technology in the field of telecommunications. It works on top of WebSphere Application Server and consists of a speech recognition server, a speech synthesizer server, and IBM WebSphere Voice Toolkit. WebSphere Voice Server provides application developers with a choice of programming interfaces to develop speech-enabled interactive voice response applications based on VoiceXML and Java. VoiceXML allows voice applications to be developed and deployed in an analogous way to HTML for visual applications. Using WebSphere Voice Server, many services can be automated, such as information inquiries, stock quotes, ticket booking, hotel reservations, and travel services.

 

Telematics is a combination of telecommunications and computing technology, as found in such products as General Motors voice-activated OnStar, which handles navigation, emergency, and maintenance notification issues for drivers. OnStar was created by a team of IBM researchers in the mid-1990s. While the product apparently hasn't saved GM from bankruptcy, it's one that has endeared the company's customers to a wide array of GM vehicles.

Conversational Biometrics

IBM currently is looking for applications for its conversational biometrics engine, which holds great potential for harnessing speech technology to combat credit card and banking fraud. This technology could plausibly be the key to creating one of the most flexible and robust user verification and detection solutions ever devised. By combining powerful and accurate acoustic, text-independent speaker-recognition with additional sources of verification--such as a person's knowledge of a subject--a provider can vary the number of security controls according to the risk. Such technology could improve the convenience of accessing encrypted data that today requires the use of encrypted keys and passwords.

 

Speech recognition technology will see increased use as mobile devices become ever more ubiquitous and users come to expect the responsiveness, convenience, and security of which they're capable. IBM's 30 years of research in laboratories around the world already has produced commercially successful products in the field of speech recognition, and that foundation will lay the groundwork for much more application development in this arena in years to come.

Chris Smith

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: