Voice computing: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|Discipline in computing}}

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[[Image:Amazon Echo Plus 02.jpg|thumb|The [[Amazon Echo]], an example of a voice computer]]

'''Voice computing''' is the discipline that develops hardware or software to process voice inputs.<ref>Schwoebel, J. (2018). An Introduction to Voice Computing in Python. Boston; Seattle, Atlanta: NeuroLex Laboratories. https://neurolex.ai/voicebook</ref>

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==History==

Voice computing has a rich history.<ref>Timeline{{Cite forweb |last=Boyd |first=Clark |date=2019-08-30 |title=Speech Recognition. Technology: The Past, Present, and Future |url=https://medium.com/swlh/the-past-present-and-future-of-speech-recognition-technology-cf13c179aaf |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=The Startup |language=en}}</ref> First, scientists like [[Wolfgang Kempelen]] started to build speech machines to produce the earliest synthetic speech sounds. This led to further work by Thomas Edison to record audio with [[dictation machines]] and play it back in corporate settings. In the 1950s-1960s there were primitive attempts to build automated [[speech recognition]] systems by [[Bell Labs]], [[IBM]], and others. However, it was not until the 1980s that [[Hidden Markov Models]] were used to recognize up to 1,000 words that speech recognition systems became relevant.

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Note that voice computers do not necessarily need a screen, such as in the traditional [[Amazon Echo]]. In other embodiments, traditional [[laptop computers]] or [[mobile phones]] could be used as voice computers. Moreover, there has become increasingly more interfaces for voice computers with the advent of [[Internet of things|IoT]]-enabled devices, such as within cars or televisions.

As of September 2018, there are currently over 20,000 types of devices compatible with Amazon Alexa.<ref>Voicebot.AI.{{Cite web |last=Kinsella |first=Bret |date=2018-09-02 |title=Amazon Alexa Now Has 50,000 Skills Worldwide, works with 20,000 Devices, Used by 3,500 Brands |url=https://voicebot.ai/2018/09/02/amazon-alexa-now-has-50000-skills-worldwide-is-on-20000-devices-used-by-3500-brands/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Voicebot.ai |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Software==

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! Package Namename

! Description

|-

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! [[SoX]]

| for manipulating audio files and removing environmental noise.<ref>SoX. httphttps://sox.sourceforge.net/</ref>

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! [[Natural Language Toolkit]]

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! [[CMU Sphinx]]

| for transcribing speech files into text.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://github.com/cmusphinx/pocketsphinx |title = PocketSphinx is a lightweight speech recognition engine, specifically tuned for handheld and mobile devices, though it works equally well on the desktop: Cmusphinx/Pocketsphinx|website = [[GitHub]]|date = 29 March 2020}}</ref>

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! Pyttsx3

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! Pycryptodome

| for encrypting and decrypting audio files.<ref>Pycryptodome. https://pycryptodome.readthedocs.io/en/latest/</ref>

|-

! AudioFlux

| for audio and music analysis, feature extraction.<ref>AudioFlux. https://github.com/libAudioFlux/audioFlux/</ref>

|}

==Applications==

Voice computing applications span many industries including voice assistants, healthcare, e-Commerce, finance, supply chain, agriculture, text-to-speech, security, marketing, customer support, recruiting, cloud computing, microphones, speakers, and podcasting. Voice technology is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19-25% by 2025, making it an attractive industry for startups and investors alike.<ref>Businesswire{{Cite news |title=Global Speech and Voice Recognition Market 2018 Forecast to 2025 - CAGR Expected to Grow at 25.7% - ResearchAndMarkets.com |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180417006122/en/Global-Speech-Voice-Recognition-Market-2018-Forecast |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119171935/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180417006122/en/Global-Speech-Voice-Recognition-Market-2018-Forecast |archive-date=2024-01-19 |access-date=2025-01-10 |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"

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! Use case

! Example Product or Startup

|-

| [[Voice assistants]]

| [[Cortana]],<ref>Cortana. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cortana</ref> [[Amazon Alexa]],<ref>Amazon Alexa. https://developer.amazon.com/alexa</ref> [[Siri]],<ref>Siri. https://www.apple.com/siri/</ref> [[Google Assistant]],<ref>Google Assistant. https://assistant.google.com/#?modal_active=none</ref> [[Apple HomePod]],<ref>HomePod. https://www.apple.com/homepod/</ref> [[Jasper]],<ref>Jasper https://jasperproject.github.io/</ref> and Nala.<ref>Nala. https://github.com/jim-schwoebel/nala</ref>, [[Amazon Alexa|Alexa]] Voice Service<ref>Alexa Voice Service. https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-voice-service</ref>

|-

| [[Healthcare]]

| Cardiocube,<ref>Cardiocube. https://www.cardiocube.com/</ref> Toneboard,<ref>Toneboard. https://toneboard.com/</ref> Suki,<ref>Suki. https://www.suki.ai/</ref> Praktice.ai,<ref>Praktice.ai. https://praktice.ai/</ref> Corti,<ref>Corti. https://corti.ai/</ref> and Syllable.<ref>Syllable. https://www.syllable.ai/</ref>

|-

| [[e-Commerce]]

| Cerebel,<ref>Cerebel. https://map.startuplithuania.lt/companies/cerebel</ref> Voysis,<ref>Voysis. https://voysis.com/</ref> Mindori,<ref>Mindori. http://mindori.com/</ref> Twiggle,<ref>Twiggle. https://www.twiggle.com/</ref> and Addstructure.<ref>AddStructure. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/addstructure</ref>

|-

| [[Finance]]

| Kasisto,<ref>Kasisto. https://kasisto.com/</ref> Personetics,<ref>Personetics. https://personetics.com/</ref> Voxo,<ref>Voxo. https://www.voxo.ai/</ref> and Active Intelligence.<ref>Active Intelligence. https://active.ai/</ref>

|-

| [[Supply Chain]] and [[Manufacturing]]

| Augury,<ref>Augury. https://www.augury.com/</ref> Kextil,<ref>Kextil. http://www.kextil.com/</ref> 3DSignals,<ref>3DSignals. https://www.3dsig.com/</ref> Voxware,<ref>Voxware. https://www.voxware.com/</ref> and Otosense.<ref>Otosense. https://www.otosense.com/</ref>

|-

| [[Agriculture]]

| Agvoice.<ref>Agvoice. https://agvoiceglobal.com/</ref>

|-

| [[Text-to-speech]]

| Lyrebyrd <ref>Lyrebird. https://lyrebird.ai/</ref> and VocalID.<ref>VocalD. https://vocalid.ai/</ref>

|-

| [[Security]]

| Pindrop security <ref>Pindrop. https://www.pindrop.com/</ref> and Aimbrain.<ref>Aimbrain. https://aimbrain.com/</ref>

|-

| [[Marketing]]

| Convirza,<ref>Convirza. https://www.convirza.com/</ref> Dialogtech,<ref>Dialogtech. https://www.dialogtech.com/</ref> Invoca,<ref>Invoca. https://www.invoca.com/</ref> and Veritonic.<ref>Veritonic. https://veritonic.com/</ref>

|-

| [[Customer support]]

| Cogito.,<ref>Cogito. https://www.cogitocorp.com/</ref> Afiniti,<ref>Afiniti. https://www.afiniti.com/</ref> Aaron.ai,<ref>Aaron.ai. https://aaron.ai/</ref> Blueworx,<ref>Blueworx. https://www.blueworx.com/</ref> Servo.ai,<ref>Servo.ai. https://www.servo.ai/</ref> [[SmartAction]], and Chatdesk.<ref>Chatdesk. https://chatdesk.com/</ref>

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| [[Recruitment|Recruiting]]

| SurveyLex <ref>SurveyLex. https://www.surveylex.com/</ref> and Voice glance.<ref>Voice glance. https://voiceglance.com/</ref>

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| [[Speech-to-text]]

| Voicebase,<ref>Voicebase. https://www.voicebase.com/</ref> Speechmatics,<ref>Speechmatics. https://www.speechmatics.com/</ref> Capio,<ref>Capio. https://www.capio.ai/</ref> [[Nuance Communications|Nuance]], and Spitch.<ref>Spitch. https://www.spitch.ch/</ref>, [[AWS]] Transcribe

|-

| [[Cloud computing]]

| [[AWS]],<ref>AWS. https://aws.amazon.com/</ref> [[Google Cloud Platform|GCP]],<ref>GCP. https://cloud.google.com/</ref> [[Watson (computer)|IBM Watson]],<ref>IBM Watson. https://www.ibm.com/watson/</ref> and [[Microsoft Azure]].<ref>Microsoft Azure. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/</ref>

|-

| [[Microphone]]/[[Loudspeaker|speaker]] design

| [[Bose Corporation|Bose]] <ref>Bose speakers. https://www.bose.com/en_us/shop_all/speakers/speakers.html</ref> and Audio Technica.<ref>Audio Technica. https://www.audio-technica.com/cms/site/c35da94027e94819/index.html</ref>

|-

| [[Podcasting]]

| Anchor <ref>Anchor. https://anchor.fm/</ref> and [[iTunes]].<ref>iTunes. https://www.apple.com/itunes/</ref>

|}

==Legal considerations==

In the United States, the states have varying [[telephone call recording laws]]. In some states, it is legal to record a conversation with the consent of only one party, in others the consent of all parties is required.

Moreover, [[COPPA]] is a significant law to protect minors using the Internet. With an increasing number of minors interacting with voice computing devices (e.g. the Amazon Alexa), on October 23, 2017 the [[Federal Trade Commission]] relaxed the COPAA rule so that children can issue voice searches and commands.<ref>Techcrunch.{{Cite web |last=Coldewey |first=Devin |date=2017-10-24 |title=FTC relaxes COPPA rule so kids can issue voice searches and commands |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/24/ftc-relaxes-coppa-rule-so-kids-can-issue-voice-searches-and-commands/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/12/08/2017-26509/enforcement-policy-statement-regarding-the-applicability-of-the-coppa-rule-to-the-collection-and-use | title=Federal Register :: Request Access | date=8 December 2017 }}</ref>

Lastly, [[GDPR]] is a new European law that governs the [[right to be forgotten]] and many other clauses for EU citizens. GDPR also is clear that companies need to outline clear measures to obtain consent if audio recordings are made and define the purpose and scope as to how these recordings will be used, e.g., for training purposes. The bar for valid consent has been raised under the GDPR. Consents must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous; tacit consent is no longer sufficient.<ref>IAPP. https://iapp.org/news/a/how-do-the-rules-on-audio-recording-change-under-the-gdpr/</ref>

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* [[International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing]]

* Interspeech <ref>Interspeech 2018. http://interspeech2018.org/</ref>

* AVEC <ref>{{Cite web |title=14th International Symposium on Advanced Vehicle Control - Speakers, Sessions, Agenda |url=https://www.eventyco.com/event/14th-international-symposium-on-advanced-vehicle-control |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=www.eventyco.com}}</ref>

* AVEC <ref>AVEC 2018. http://avec2018.org/</ref>

* IEEE Int'l Conf. on Automatic Face and Gesture Recognition <ref>2018 FG. https://fg2018.cse.sc.edu/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511185841/https://fg2018.cse.sc.edu/ |date=2018-05-11 }}</ref>

* ACII2019 The 8th Int'l Conf. on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction <ref>ASCII 2019. http://acii-conf.org/2019/</ref>

==Developer community==

Google Assistant has roughly 2,000 actions as of January 2018.<ref>Voicebot{{Cite web |last=Mutchler |first=Ava |date=2018-01-24 |title=Google Assistant App Total Reaches Nearly 2400.ai But That’s Not the Real Number. It’s really 1719. |url=https://voicebot.ai/2018/01/24/google-assistant-app-total-reaches-nearly-2400-thats-not-real-number-really-1719/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Voicebot.ai |language=en-US}}</ref>

There are over 50,000 Alexa skills worldwide as of September 2018.<ref>Voicebot.ai.{{Cite web |last=Kinsella |first=Bret |date=2018-09-02 |title=Amazon Alexa Now Has 50,000 Skills Worldwide, works with 20,000 Devices, Used by 3,500 Brands |url=https://voicebot.ai/2018/09/02/amazon-alexa-now-has-50000-skills-worldwide-is-on-20000-devices-used-by-3500-brands/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Voicebot.ai |language=en-US}}</ref>

In June 2017, [[Google]] released AudioSet,<ref>Google AudioSet. https://research.google.com/audioset/</ref> a large-scale collection of human-labeled 10-second sound clips drawn from YouTube videos. It contains 1,010,480 videos of human speech files, or 2,793.5 hours in total.<ref>Audioset{{Cite data.web |title=AudioSet |url=https://research.google.com/audioset/dataset/speech.html |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=research.google.com}}</ref> It was released as part of the IEEE ICASSP 2017 Conference.<ref>Gemmeke, J. F., Ellis, D. P., Freedman, D., Jansen, A., Lawrence, W., Moore, & Ritter, M. (2017, March). Audio set: An ontology and human-labeled dataset for audio events. In Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP), 2017 IEEE International Conference on (pp. 776-780). IEEE.</ref>

In November 2017, [[Mozilla Foundation]] released the Common Voice Project, a collection of speech files to help contribute to the larger open source machine learning community.<ref>Common Voice Project. https://voice.mozilla.org/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227020208/https://voice.mozilla.org/ |date=2020-02-27 }}</ref><ref>Common{{Cite web |title=Announcing the Initial Release of Mozilla’s Open Source Speech Recognition Model and Voice Project.Dataset {{!}} The Mozilla Blog |url=https://blog.mozilla.org/blogen/2017/11/29mozilla/announcing-the-initial-release-of-mozillas-open-source-speech-recognition-model-and-voice-dataset/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=blog.mozilla.org |language=en-US}}</ref> The voicebank is currently 12GB in size, with more than 500 hours of English-language voice data that have been collected from 112 countries since the project's inception in June 2017.<ref>Mozilla's large repository of voice data will shape the future of machine learning. https://opensource.com/article/18/4/common-voice</ref> This dataset has already resulted in creative projects like the DeepSpeech model, an open source transcription model.<ref>DeepSpeech. https://github.com/mozilla/DeepSpeech</ref>

==See also==

*[[Speech recognition]]

*[[Natural Languagelanguage Processingprocessing]]

*[[Voice user interface]]

*[[Audio codec]]

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[[Category:Computational linguistics]]

[[Category:Computational fields of study]]

[[Category:Artificial intelligence]]