While Voice Recognition or other technologies based on artificial intelligence for that matter, have come a long way, there is always that element of doubt which will force decision makers to insist with human error checking. As of now, these tools may help transcriptionists to increase their output but are far away from being complete replacements. However, breakthroughs in technologies are hard to predict and it is always better to be prepared for constant skill upgradation.
Regards, Kiran. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Geetha Shamanna Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 10:00 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] NaturallySpeaking Claims Voice Rec Breakthrough I wonder what impact this will have on medical transcription. as is the case with most technologies, while they prove to be a boon to some, they end up being a bane to others. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vikas Kapoor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Access India" <accessindia@accessindia.org.in> Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 5:25 PM Subject: [AI] NaturallySpeaking Claims Voice Rec Breakthrough > NaturallySpeaking Claims Voice Rec Breakthrough > > Watch what you say about your computer: It's getting better at > understanding your voice. > > Nuance Communications says the latest version of its speech-recognition > software can achieve--with some speakers--99 percent accuracy out of the > box, without > a "training" session to familiarize the software with how a particular > person talks. It was scheduled for launch today. > > Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 lets users control many applications on > Microsoft Windows PCs and dictate documents within them. It's designed for > professionals > such as doctors and lawyers, as well as for enterprise employees who > frequently have to type and for disabled people, said Matt Revis, director > of product > management for dictation solutions at Nuance. > > The accuracy rate, or what percentage of words the software spells > correctly by itself, varies depending on sound quality and how a person > talks, Revis > said. But Nuance has improved it by 20 percent since > NaturallySpeaking 8 > was introduced in 2004, according to the company. > > Version 8 could reach 99 percent, but only after the user read a prepared > script, Revis said. Now users can get that level of accuracy right after > installing > the software and starting it up, though a script is still available if a > user isn't satisfied with the results on the first try. In any case, the > software > can continue learning on its own just through normal use, Revis added. > > The out-of-the-box 99 percent accuracy figure is for the American English > version, but the new Dragon releases for other languages get similar > boosts in > accuracy, Revis said. The software is available for Dutch, French, German, > Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, as well as for Australian, Asian, Indian > and > U.K. English. Also with NaturallySpeaking 9, Nuance is certifying two > Bluetooth wireless headsets for use with the software. > > The current version of NaturallySpeaking is "uncannily accurate," so the > new version should work very well--but only over time, in most cases, said > Bill > Meisel, president of TMA Associates, a speech industry consulting company > in Tarzana, California. Most users are unlikely to see 99 percent accuracy > the > minute they start using the software, though after about two days of use > their accuracy will improve, he said. In fact, Meisel questions Nuance's > decision > to emphasize immediate results. Many users quickly get frustrated, not > realizing that it usually takes time to get good results. > > "They're raising expectations higher than necessary," Meisel said. > > Nuance has the market for dictation software pretty well sewn up outside > of specialized areas, namely medicine, Meisel said. For one thing, it > controls > a formidable cache of patents, he said. However, voice recognition for > controlling applications is drawing increasing interest. IBM, Microsoft, > and Google > are among the companies that may be working on bigger plays in this area, > Meisel said. Microsoft already includes some voice-recognition capability > in > Windows. > > NaturallySpeaking 9 is available immediately. The Standard version costs > $99 and the Preferred version, which includes support for more > applications and > for converting digital voice-recorder tracks into text, costs $199. A > specialized version for the legal profession, as well as iterations for > various medical > specialties cost $1199 each, Revis said. > > http://www.pcworld.com/resource/article/0,aid,126453,pg,1,RSS,RSS,00.asp > > Vikas Kapoor, > MSN ID: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Yahoo ID: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Skype ID: dl_vikas > Mobile: (+91) 9891098137. > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. 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