The Dragon speech engine is being used in a surprisingly different number of ways today, including…
• In call centres to route telephone calls to the correct member of staff.
• In banks to confirm the identity of a caller – voice recognition used to enhance the recognition of a caller’s voice! Each customer provides a voice recording of themselves, and this is used to confirm their identity when they call the bank, rather than having to answer various security questions.
• On smart phones e.g. Siri on the iPhone – I’ve always seen this as more of a ‘toy’ but it is becoming more useful with each release. When my wife had her first iPhone5 she stumbled across Siri and asked me what it was, and when I explained, she asked me what she could ask it, so I said, “ask what is the answer to life, the universe and everything”, which she did, and Siri’s reply was “chocolate!”
• In cars for Satnav
• The Eurofighter Jet requires pilots to create a voice template to control cockpit functions (not weapons!) – this is designed to reduce pilot workloads
• For court reporting (stenography) – it takes less time to train for voice recording than for other equipment
• Home automation – “Computer please turn on the lights”
• Robotics
• Helping people with a disability – it can be life changing
