Creating a prototype for voice recognition using Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Project duration: 4 months
Brief description
The customer wishes examine the possibility of enhancing an existing C# application to include voice recognition components, and, after carrying out its own research, favors the voice recognition software Dragon NaturallySpeaking from Nuance. After researching this voice recognition software and alternatives available on the market, PTA GS HH created a presentation prototype to demonstrate the abilities and quality of Dragon, as well as PTA's own know-how. The customer was impressed by the quality of Dragon's voice recognition during normal speech and by the options for addressing the control elements available in the app using voice commands.
Supplement
The prototype was created in Windows 7 using Visual Studio 2017 as a C# WinForms app. Dragon NaturallySpeaking in the Home 13 version is installed as the voice recognition software on the developer device. In order to minimize the programming effort involved in enabling the C# app to 'speak' and 'hear' a voice kit from Chant (version 8) is used as a test version. Among other features, this kit explicitly simplifies the management process for Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking. PTA identified and researched the components and analyzed the abilities of the voice software and voice kit and demonstrated them using a small C# program.
Subject description
The customer has field staff employees who document their daily contact with customers on Microsoft tablets using an existing C# program. This is a challenge for employees as, due to time pressures, they are not always able to complete everything to everyone's satisfaction straight away, often waiting until the end of the day to enter the data. The hope is that employees will be able to dictate a description of the customer's situation into the application via a Bluetooth headset while on site with the customer or during their trip to their next appointment. To enable this, a suitable voice detection software has to be used and added to the existing application. The customer wants an offline variant as network coverage is not always guaranteed. In addition, data protection and data security reasons and regulations mean that a cloud-based solution is not favored.