Could this cutting edge technology cut out people with speech problems, asks Stuart Wilkinson.

Voice recognition systems may be more widely available and intrusive than you think; it is now impossible to buy a mobile phone without a voice recognition function included. It seems I am alone in asking, 'What happens when someone with a bad stammer uses the voice dialing function in their mobile phone?' Well, the answer, as you might or might not expect, is that the stammerer's input is rejected. The makers of such software feel this problem does not need to be overcome nor integrated into the design of their systems. Next to no research has been carried out into this area. To me, this seems very thoughtless, and willfully excludes the stammering population, which in the UK alone is around 550,000 strong.

Software is available that allows you to take total control over your PC using your voice to write documents, surf the web and carry out general operations that would normally require the use of the mouse and keyboard. This issue is emphasised by voicerecognition.com, an online journal dedicated to voice recognition issues which states "Soon we will wonder how we did without voice recognition technology and even the best typist, I believe, will see the benefits of using voice to not only compose text but to command and control the PC as well."

Who is to say that the future will not be totally voice activated, with computers relying on voice commands to control the heating of your house or to do the weekly shop? A German company is even carrying out research into a voice controlled car. In a recent article published on the BBC Technology website titled "Macs get their voices back", Apple, a leading computer manufacturer and designer of the simply beautiful iPod, announced that they will be "incorporating speech technology into new versions of its OS X operating system which will make Macs more accessible to users who are visually impaired as well as people with learning difficulties." This is definitely a step in the right direction for anyone with a disability; however the stammering population seems to have been overlooked. If this is a glimpse into the future then it could be a very scary and unpleasant sight for anyone who stammers.

The conflict of voice recognition systems and speech impediments has led me to carry out research into a potential solution for this problem, as part of my IT degree. I am a fellow stammerer and would love to hear from you if you stammer and have had problems using voice recognition systems in the past, or use voice recognition systems successfully in your everyday life? Maybe you know of research into the area? If you feel you can help in any way or are interested in this area of research, please email me at stuartbwilkinson@yahoo.co.uk.

References and sites of interest:
www.voicerecognition.com/trends
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3633143.stm
www.scansoft.co.uk
www.speechtechmag.com
www.voice-recognition.de/english/start_engl.html

From the Summer 2004 edition of Speaking Out