User Interface : Speech Driven

A speech driven user interface is controlled by a user speaking commands. Speech driven interfaces are not very common at the moment but may become more popular in the future. Commands can be input using a microphone and are interpreted by voice recognition software. Output can be provided either on a monitor or by speech synthesis.

Speech driven user interfaces have a number of advantages over more traditional methods such as command line or graphical user interfaces :

• Very little training is required, all a user has to do is learn what commands can be used.
• You can use a speech driven interface when you need to use your hands or eyes for something else.
• There is no risk of repetitive strain injury when you use a speech driven interface.

A speech driven interface may need to be trained to recognise the voice of the user. This is particularly likely with systems that understand a wide range of commands. It may be difficult to use a speech driven interface if there is a lot of background noise or if you have a cold that makes your speech unclear.

Speech driven interfaces are often used by in-car mobile telephones. So that a driver does not need to take his eyes off the road or his hands off the steering wheel he is able to control the telephone by speaking commands such as "Dial Emma" or "Hang Up". In the future it is likely that they will be used in devices such as televisions as an alternative to a remote control.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004