How
connected are we to our mobile devices?
In the SpeechTEK conference
this month, an intriguing theme emerged suggesting that smartphones are
becoming extensions of ourselves. Multiple presenters cited
evidence showing that, because they are always with us, the expanding
capabilities of the devices to be our “personal assistants” actually expand
human potential. There is an interesting analogy to automobiles which
extend our range of travel beyond walking distance, with the mechanics of driving
almost automatic like walking when we use the vehicle. The idea of the mobile
phone as an extension of our memory and capabilities that is always with us, in
effect an extension of our brain, is perhaps a bit unsettling to some of us
but, nevertheless, it is happening.
Paradoxically, one major
challenge to this “paradigm shift” is the rapid growth in mobile phone features
and cloud-based services. While these make the device more valuable, the
complexity makes them difficult to use. The rapid acceptance of voice search on
mobile phones as an alternative to typing search terms is evidence that typing
and navigating features and applications on smartphones is difficult enough to
demand an easier and more natural way to interact with them if they are to
achieve their full potential.
One particularly natural
option is to treat the phone as a personal assistant--just say what you want to
get it. Providers of speech recognition options on mobile phones are expanding
them to fuller assistant-style functionality, with all major mobile operating
systems offering (or soon to offer) voice control, as well as independent apps
that act in effect as a voice operating system on top of the operating system.
The voice functionality of these assistant applications goes beyond the speech
recognition capability. They include methods of analyzing the resulting text to
determine the user’s intent and cut directly to what the user wants rather than
just displaying a list of alternatives. If the user is not in an environment
where they can speak to the phone, they can type what they want into a
searchbox-style interface and still take advantage of these natural language
interpretation capabilities. This intuitive interface is a prerequisite to full
use of smartphone capabilities as they expand, and will make its evolution into
an extension of our human capabilities more complete.
The commercial implications
of this fundamental paradigm shift will be explored in depth at the Mobile
Voice Conference in San Francisco, March 19-21, 2012. The conference is
presented by the non-profit Applied Voice Input Output Society, with Bill
Meisel, editor, Speech Strategy News, and president, TMA Associates, as the
program organizer. The conference is currently offering sponsorship
opportunities and soliciting proposals for talks at www.mobilevoiceconference.com.
About the Mobile Voice
Conference
The Mobile Voice Conference
in San Francisco, March 19-21, 2012, provides attendees with information to
help them take advantage of the rapidly developing opportunities created by the
explosion of mobile phone use, and, in particular, with the increasing role of
voice interaction on mobile devices, including its implications for app
development, enterprise use, and customer service. The preliminary program is
at www.mobilevoiceconference.com.
The first day of the
conference is the Vendor Showcase, part of the full conference registration,
but free for those attending the one day. Information on conference sponsorship
opportunities and participation in the Vendor Showcase is available at the
conference website.
About the Applied Voice Input
Output Society
AVIOS is non-profit
organization promoting the speech technology industry for over a
quarter-century. For more info, see www.avios.org.
Contacts:
AVIOS:
Peggie Johnson, 408-323-1783, Peggie@avios.org
TMA Associates: Bill Meisel,
818-708-0962, b.meisel@tmaa.com
