Calif.
ISP Develops Web Speech Recognition Technology
Steve
Gold, Newsbytes
1/02/1999
Newsbytes News Network
(c) Copyright 1999 Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc. All rights reserved.
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1999 NOV 2 (NB). InternetSpeech.com, which describes
itself an audio Internet service provider (ISP), has developed a technology that
allows people to surf the Web using a regular phone.
Known as NetEcho, the technology is based around speech recognition rather than
touchtone keypads, as has previously been the case with "audiotext" Web surfing.
Dr. Emdad Khan, the ISP's president, said that the technology allows users to
check their e-mail, hear information on any Web site and search or perform e-commerce
transactions - all through any phone.
Speech recognition technology, he said, lets users give simple voice commands
like "Yahoo," or "e-mail" to get the Net-based information they want, when they
want it, without a computer. A computerized voice then reads the information aloud
over the phone.
Khan said that the system is ideal for people without a computer, or who are away
from a computer, mobile workers or the visually impaired, to use the Internet
anytime, anywhere.
"They
can e-mail, surf, search, or conduct e-commerce, anytime, anywhere, whether they're
out on an appointment, stuck in traffic, sitting in an airport, or cooking dinner,"
he said.
InternetSpeech .com says that NetEcho uses technology that integrates text-to-speech,
speech recognition, telephone interface, multi-media and intelligent agents.
Khan said that, the company's technology presents the Web to users in an audio
format, rather than the visual forms everyone else offers. This means users can
get the information they want, even when they do not have a computer.
"Subscribers
dial a toll-free number to reach the NetEcho server, and are asked to say a password
and logon ID. From there, they'll use simple voice commands to check for new e-mail
messages, surf, search or trade on the Web," he said.
A key feature of the NetEcho technology, Khan said, is that it will read the important
content of a Web page, but not the distracting and annoying ads or images that
vie for attention.
"When
you hear an item which you want more information about, you select it by voice
and you'll be taken to the newly selected destination," he said.
Plans call for the NetEcho service to be available nationally in the first quarter
of 2000 for a flat monthly fee.
InternetSpeech.com's Web site is at http://www.internetspeech.com . Reported by
Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .
07:03 CST
Contact: Press Contact: Lou Saviano, Maita/Saviano PR 510-739-0621 /WIRES ONLINE,
TELECOM, BUSINESS/
Copyright © 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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