Server to Aid Voice Response Applications

Windows Speech Server, a server application for Interactive Voice Response (IVR) applications, has entered its second and final beta and is expected to ship in 2004. IVR applications are typically accessible by telephone and allow users to input information, such as an account number, either by speaking or pressing numbers on the telephone keypad. The application then responds with a combination of prerecorded prompts or with computer-generated speech. Microsoft hopes to leverage its strengths in developer tools to make Windows Server and ASP.NET the preferred platform for building such applications.

Not General Purpose Recognition

Unlike the general-purpose speech recognition system included in Office, IVR applications do not need to correctly understand arbitrary speech. Instead, they need only to differentiate among a finite set of responses, such as a list of cities to which an airline flies, or the digits of an account number. (For an example of the difficulties of general purpose speech recognition, see the sidebar “Hearing Voices” on page 17 of the June 2001 Update.) Limiting the set of possible inputs greatly increases the likelihood of recognizing speech successfully, avoiding the well-known scenario in which the phrase “recognize speech” is interpreted as “wreck a nice beach,” for instance. It also allows IVR applications to work without the extensive user training required by general-purpose speech recognition systems.