Traveling in Cyberspace: Voice-Recognition Systems

Computer technology has changed the work environment drastically in the last few years. If you were part of the workforce in the 1960s and 1970s you might remember your organization’s computer (IF they had one) as a large mainframe isolated in a large, dark, temperature controlled room located in the bowels of a building. Specialized technicians programmed "the monster" by feeding it a set of punched cards. Minutes or hours later, your printout—stacks of green and white striped paper—would be available for pickup. Today, almost every office worker with a desk has a computer sitting on top of it; we use computers to set appointments, write letters, send and receive e-mail, generate spreadsheets and multimedia presentations, gather information, and so on. Truly, the Age of the Ubiquitous Computer is upon us.

In this and following editions of TIP we will explore technological advances which are not yet part of mainstream business applications, but will undoubtedly be so in the future. This edition examines voice-recognition systems (VRS, also known as speech recognition systems). We begin with a basic description of VRS and its promise. Next, we discuss some issues surrounding the implementation of VRS. Finally, we relate our experience with a VRS system for dictation and navigation.