MAS.632 Conversational Computer Systems - MIT OpenCourseWare

296 VOICE COMMUNICATION WITH COMPUTERS
the successful deployment of voice applications depends on a number of factors.
The most important factor for success is that voice must add value to existing
work practices, as it is unlikely that any single new application is going to radically
change the ways in which office computers are being used. But it can
enhance current productivity tools, e.g., by providing better user interfaces to
current voice systems such as voice mail. Desktop voice processing can enable
remote access over the telephone to desktop applications and their databases as
was described in the case study on Phoneshell. The case study on Conversational
Desktop was meant to illustrate this broad range of potential Desktop Audio
functionality, and how it benefits from the integration of multiple voice processing
technologies.
Desktop Audio requires graphical user interfaces to indicate the presence of
stored voice within an application and to control its playback. Graphical interfaces
can also support cut-and-paste of stored voice between applications. Common
interfaces are the "button," which implements click-to-play while requiring
little screen space, and more elaborate audio playback control panels which may
also provide a temporal representation of of the stored voice. The SoundViewer,
described as a case study, attempts to provide the enhanced functionality of control
panels while minimizing its screen space requirements. The SoundViewer
was shown in use in an array of applications discussed in the final case study.
Desktop Audio also benefits from a client-server architecture, which enables
multiple applications to make use of digital audio resources simultaneously without
interfering with each other. Audio toolkits should insulate clients from details
of the audio server's protocol and provide convenient user interface building
blocks to enable rapid application development. A number of server architectures
were discussed in detail.
Desktop Audio has become a reality only very recently, driven primarily by the
increased speeds of workstations. Issues with appropriateness of speech applications
as well as the techniques to employ voice processing technologies effectively
all come to bear on this integrated approach. With proper integration, voice can
be used seamlessly across a range of tasks we perform in our daily work lives.