Speech recognition software allows a computer to recognize human speech. The technology is widely applied in telephony services where phone trees use computer programs to recognize speech, eliminating the need for human involvement. Although many customer's will tell you that they experience frustration with computer operated telephone systems, businesses claim that this allows them to use their employees to spend more time with the customer once the phone tree directs them to the correct department.
There are also programs on the market to use voice recognition software to eliminate manual dictation. While not yet widely applied, any business can take advantage of this software to dictate documentation of any kind. This technology can significantly reduce costs and increase efficiency for businesses, especially small businesses that have resource shortage issues. This software can also be used to help those with special needs establish increased independence.
This technology has found an application in the medical field as medical speech recognition software eliminates the need for manual transcription. Medical professionals can dictate directly into a PC or PDA, or they can send off their dictation to be automatically transcribed somewhere else. Either option reduces both cost and turn around time.
One important consideration is that this software uses a great deal of memory. Any PC running this software should be configured with the maximum available RAM.
Features available with speech recognition technology include:
- Dictate into almost any Windows application
- Navigate the Internet by voice
- Custom updatable dictionary
- Text to speech and dictation playback
- Import and export user files
- USB microphone support
- dictation from hand-held recorders
Major providers of voice recognition technology include:
- IBM (ViaVoice)
- Intervoice
- Callmaster (Speechsoft)
- Nuance (formerly ScanSoft)
When evaluating and selecting a speech recognition application, several factors should be considered:
- Exact need (for tutoring, text entry, pattern recognition, or command entry)
- Cost
- CPU speed – some programs may do better with command entry at lower speeds than others
- System resources: Memory can be an issue. If your system is low on available RAM, dictation speed may be a problem. A good quality sound card and microphone are required