New Internet Browser Is Voice Operated
By DOUG MELLGREN, Associated Press Writer
OSLO, Norway - Opera Software is developing a new Internet browser that
allows users to talk to their computer, the company announced Tuesday.
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The new browser incorporates IBM's ViaVoice technology, enabling the
computer to ask what the user wants and "listen" to the request. Opera
declined to give a launch date.
The browser is at its developmental stage. At a demonstration, a pizza
order form was promptly displayed when the tester told the computer,
"Order pizza." But the browser misinterpreted an order for "a pizza" as
"eight pizzas."
"We feel we are on the verge of moving the Web a little bit," said
Christen Krogh, head of Opera's software development.
"Voice is the most natural and effective way we communicate," Krogh
said. "In the years to come, it will greatly facilitate how we interact
with technology."
The computer learns to recognize its users voice, accent and
inflections by having them read a list of words into a microphone.
"Hi. I am your browser. What can I do for you?," asked a laptop with
the demonstration versions of the browser. The message can easily be
changed to suit users, such as greeting them by name.
The demonstration version, so far only in English, is still far from
normal casual conversation. Users have to learn to listen to the
computer's question, and then wait for a tiny beep before stating their
request, a bit like communicating by pressing the transmit key on a
simplex radio.
"I would like a medium pizza with extra cheese, mushrooms and salami,"
a tester told the machine.
The machine checked off the appropriate boxes on the form, but
interpreted "a pizza" as "eight pizzas." Then it asked if the order was
correct, and fixed the number when told the order was for one pizza.
"Voice has been seen as the next step for years, but there were always
problems," Krogh said.
The browser corresponds to simple commands. For example, say "Get AP"
and it would go to The Associated Press Internet page.
By embedding IBM's voice technology into Opera's browser, a user can
talk to the computer, which will understand and translate into normal
code for the Net, Krogh said. The could open up the Internet to users
who had been excluded because, for example, they were physically unable
to use a keyboard, he added.
Opera is the third-largest browser on the Web, although it is tiny
compared to Internet Explorer and Netscape. It has been gaining ground
as the browser of choice for hand-held devices, such as mobile
telephones and personal data assistants, because it is known as being
fast and needing little memory.
IBM's director of embedded speech, Igor Jablokov, said "the new
offering will allow us to interact with the content on the Web in a
more natural way, first on PCs and in the near future on devices such
as cell phones and PDAs."
Opera plans to first launch an English version of the voice browser for
Windows, to be followed by versions for other operating systems,
including Linux (news - web sites) and Symbians.
Oslo-based Opera was founded in 1995 by two former developers for the
Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor as an offshoot of a company
project.
Earlier this month, it was listed on the Oslo stock exchange for the
first time, and sold nearly 25 percent of its share base for 243
million kroner (US$35.2 million).
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