VOWELS: A Voice-Based Web Engine for Locating Speeches

摘要

The most common interaction with the Web is through the ubiquitous browser using visual interfaces. Most search engines use traditional visual interfaces to interact with its users. However, for certain applications and users it is desirable to have other modes of interaction with the Web. Current interfaces limit the mobility of the user and his/her interaction with the Web because both hands and eyes must be involved in the task. Speech technology will promote an increased use of the Web in untapped environments in a similar way that cell telephones have promoted the increased use of telephones. One of the limitations of the development of voice systems was the lack of standards for creating spoken dialogue systems. A promising emerging technology for solving this problem is VoiceXML. VoiceXML brings the Web and content delivery together in voice response applications in an easy-to-use manner. This article presents a voice-based search engine implemented in VoiceXML and narrates the design and development issues behind the application.