Voice Recognition System

1. How it Works
A voice recognition system comprises of the microphone, sound card, and voice recognition software.
First, to convert speech to data, or to an on-screen text or a computer command, it needs an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to be able to interpret or decode the analog wave into digital data so that the computer would be able to understand. Next, the signal is divided into small segments in the case of plosive consonant sounds, which are consonant stops produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract like “p” or “t”. Phonemes are programs which match the segments and are representations of the sounds that humans make and they combine them to form meaningful expressions.
Then, the software analyzes the phonemes around it. It uses a complex statistical model and then relates it to a large library of words, phrases, and sentences. Finally, the software verifies what the user is saying then it makes an output by giving a text or a computer command.

2. Its main use
-For persons with disabilities to prevent them from typing, especially for those visually impaired.

3. Other uses
-Automated voice recordings for most large companies, instructing one to tell their choice for a given menu
-Convert a voice to a text document or email


4. Leading Providers
-Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 Preferred:
*could skip dictation setup
*slimmer toolbar
*allows voice command to browse Web pages
*lets you drop the mouse and keyboard while typing
*handy transcription tools
*support for PDAs and Bluetooth headsets.
*Only for Windows
-Windows Speech Recognition
-IBM ViaVoice 10Standard
-MacSpeech Dictate


Works Cited
"HowStuffWorks "How Speech Recognition Works"" Howstuffworks "Electronics" Web. 04 Aug. 2009. .
Consumer Search. “Voice Recognition Software: Reviews “
http://www.consumersearch.com/voice-recognition-software/review