VoiceXML: The Beginning
VoiceXML is my newest focus these days simply because it's so different than anything else I've tried before. You may recognize it as the technology behind those Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems that commonly greet you when you call your bank or before you reach customer service. Many people become frustrated when presented with a non-human voice belting out ordered options over the phone, but I believe that the technology is capable of much more user friendly applications than have so far been introduced.
VoiceXML is a W3C standard markup language for voice-driven audio applications, featuring digitized speech, recorded dialogs, DTMF signaling, and speech recognition. Traditionally, previous IVR systems hosting voice applications were difficult to program, with vendor-specific languages and proprietary technologies. A new system was needed to provide developers with the tools that they needed to transfer applications from one platform to another, and to reduce the costs associated with IVR's. That's when VoiceXML was developed.
Well-implemented VXML based systems can be very efficient and beneficial to us - but only in the correct circumstances. Telephone banking, weather reports, and status updates about events like concerts and services, are all good candidates for a voice based application. These services can be easily automated and do not generally require human intervention, however it's always a good idea to present the option of talking to a person just in-case. Frustrations with these systems are generally few and far between.
When you have many complicated options or near-endless possibility of customer questions, it's better to focus on a mostly human operated system. That's not to say VoiceXML can't be useful in these types of situations, but it's not a good idea to over-do it. A few options at the start of a call to forward it to the correct department, or even to provide a responder with basic details of a particular call, are acceptable.
Although many IVR style systems require servers and telephony hardware, they're not necessary to develop VXML applications - you can find many free development environments or online services that can be accessed to suit your needs. Personally, I use VoiceGenie, which is based in Toronto and provides multiple extensions to call to test VoiceXML applications. It has multiple ASR and TTS engines to support your application.
If VoiceXML interests you, as it did with me, dive right into some tutorials. I'm betting you'll have a blast with the TTS engines, especially over at VoiceGenie. Happy developing :).
VoiceXML is a W3C standard markup language for voice-driven audio applications, featuring digitized speech, recorded dialogs, DTMF signaling, and speech recognition. Traditionally, previous IVR systems hosting voice applications were difficult to program, with vendor-specific languages and proprietary technologies. A new system was needed to provide developers with the tools that they needed to transfer applications from one platform to another, and to reduce the costs associated with IVR's. That's when VoiceXML was developed.
Well-implemented VXML based systems can be very efficient and beneficial to us - but only in the correct circumstances. Telephone banking, weather reports, and status updates about events like concerts and services, are all good candidates for a voice based application. These services can be easily automated and do not generally require human intervention, however it's always a good idea to present the option of talking to a person just in-case. Frustrations with these systems are generally few and far between.
When you have many complicated options or near-endless possibility of customer questions, it's better to focus on a mostly human operated system. That's not to say VoiceXML can't be useful in these types of situations, but it's not a good idea to over-do it. A few options at the start of a call to forward it to the correct department, or even to provide a responder with basic details of a particular call, are acceptable.
Although many IVR style systems require servers and telephony hardware, they're not necessary to develop VXML applications - you can find many free development environments or online services that can be accessed to suit your needs. Personally, I use VoiceGenie, which is based in Toronto and provides multiple extensions to call to test VoiceXML applications. It has multiple ASR and TTS engines to support your application.
If VoiceXML interests you, as it did with me, dive right into some tutorials. I'm betting you'll have a blast with the TTS engines, especially over at VoiceGenie. Happy developing :).
posted by Matt at 10:31 p.m.
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