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What's New, What's Next for Speech Recognition

February 1994 -- Boulder, CO -- With the introduction of the FONCARD,
Sprint has catapulted speech recognition technology squarely into the lap
of middle America. Although the technology FONCARD employs uses a very
limited vocabulary, it is significant that a whole new market segment will
be exposed to speech recognition.

"Exposure is a big part of a new technology," says Bill Meisel, Editor of
Speech Recognition Update, "but few of the current consumer applications
are close to incorporating the full power of advanced speech recognition
technology. Even though the technology is available, the most impressive
applications are still being developed."

According to Bruce Ryon, principal multimedia analyst at Dataquest, "The PC
speech recognition products selling for under $500 are definitely in the
early-adopter-but-buyer-beware category." At the right price, some people
will buy products just because they are new, without considering if these
products will really enhance their productivity. After several weeks, most
new users conclude that technology X doesn't meet their expectations, and
they file the product away with their old typewriter. "We are still
waiting for accurate advanced speech recognition to reach consumers at an
affordable price. At that time, average PC: users will get to enjoy the
benefits of speech recognition."

One company that best illustrates the state-of-the-art in speech
recognition is Boulder, Colorado-based Speech Systems, Inc. Drawing on
twelve years of research and product development, the company now markets
one of the most advanced PC-based speech recognition systems in the
industry. The Phonetic Engine 400 (PE400) incorporates continuous speech
(the ability to speak naturally without pauses between words), speaker
independence and a large active vocabulary in one package. The PE400
Software Development Kit (SDK) capitalizes on the popularity of Microsoft
Windows by allowing developers to integrate speech with existing
applications as well as to create their own speech-driven applications.

"It's the most impressive of all voice technologies currently on the
market," adds Ryon. "Voice recognition technology in general has a way to
go to be of use to the masses, despite the current television advertising
claims. In the meantime, there are some very good vertical solution areas
that have great value and utility. Speech Systems is smart to target
developers and large corporations who can see the benefits and adapt the
technology according to their needs."

Challenged by the widely-held belief that speech recognition is still a
very limited technology, Speech Systems has set out to prove that speech
input is a viable and timesaving user interface. Today, speech input can
be used to generate commands and reports, to control vehicles and
machinery, and to do data entry, thus enabling many businesses to work
faster and operate more efficiently.

After searching all over the world for an advanced speech recognition
technology that was cost effective, Janet Ho, vice-president of
engineering at Los Altos, California based KorTeam International, found
that the PE400 fits her needs for a bed-side charting system perfectly.
"We wanted to create a device that doctors, nurses and administrators
could relate to without special training, and a voice interface is the
most natural way to create a human-like connection. Another consideration
was that we needed to create a money-saving device that would minimize the
time people typically spend learning to use a computer."

Speech Systems, Inc. has built its reputation as the leading supplier of
highly sophisticated speech recognition products for systems integrators
and software developers. "Speech Systems is a leader in voice-enabling
development tools," adds Meisel.

The PE400 Speech Recognition System for the PC was introduced in 1992 and
has been very successful due to the combination of three features
essential to effective speech recognition: speaker independence,
continuous or natural speech, and a large, expandable vocabulary of 40,000
words.

Speech Systems Inc
2945 Center Green Court South, Boulder, CO 80301

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