Man is constantly creating new ways to make his life more comfortable and convenient. This is manifested in everything - everyday life, life, work. One of the latest innovative solutions is voice input, which users around the world have begun to actively use.
What it is?
Voice input is a kind of replacement for standard keyboard input. Data is received using the device’s microphone, converted and displayed in plain text.
This technology is especially relevant for people with disabilities or for those who constantly have to work with large volumes of text. As a rule, these are copywriters, writers, translators.
Voice Input Tools
To recognize speech and convert it to text, special software is used. And among its leaders can be noted funds from the Internet giants Google and Yandex.
Google
Google voice input is integrated into almost all of the company's products. This includes search, Google Chrome browser, Android operating system, Google Docs. This is very convenient - having learned how to use voice input in one technology, you can successfully apply it in another.
Android
Voice input in this operating system is available “out of the box” in many versions. You can activate it through the “Language and Keyboard” or “Language and Input” settings menu. After that, in almost all places where there is text input, whether it is SMS typing or a text editor, the microphone icon will appear. Clicking on it will start the recording process, after which the system will take some time to recognize and return the result.
It is worth noting that this functionality is available offline in some recent versions of Android. True, for this you have to download a small archive for the desired language.
Another important point - if the user is not satisfied with regular voice input, you can always install a third-party one.
Google Chrome and Google Docs
Voice input on your computer is available using the Google Chrome browser. Just like in the Android OS, when you visit the Google website, you can see the microphone icon in the search bar. It allows you to record sound and search for the desired object on the network, without entering from the keyboard.
A more advanced version is used in the online document service Google Docs. In addition to typing, there are available functions for moving around it, formatting, changing tables. In general, everything that can be done with classic input means - a keyboard or a mouse.
Yandex
Yandex does not have such a large set of platforms on which voice input could be applied. Therefore, while it is presented in the products "Search", "Conversation" and "Translator". Also, navigators from Yandex can recognize speech and talk with the user.
"Search" can be found in the Yandex Browser. Here it is built in by default and acts similarly to Chrome. The technology is based on the company's own development, which is also available for commercial needs in the form of Speech.Kit. By connecting it to your project, you can use an unlimited number of queries for recognition. However, this service is paid.
Other products
In addition to voice input from Internet giants, there are other free developers who are actively developing and promoting the technology presented. Some are implemented in the form of online services (for example, speechpad.ru, august4u.ru, bestfree.ru), while some are full-fledged applications with the ability to install on a computer (speechka, realspeaker).
Despite the fact that the resources of free developers are slightly less, their solutions work just as well. And sometimes they even use the Google API.
Advantages and disadvantages
Voice input on a computer has its significant advantages and disadvantages:
- This is undoubtedly convenient. Hands can be free during work, and the speed of typing is also increased, and with this, productivity also grows.
- In mobile versions of voice tools, you can work with the device without breaking away, for example, from driving a car.
- In addition, voice input programs allow you to abandon the use of an uncomfortable miniature keyboard operating system, which undoubtedly affects the quality and speed of input.
Of the minuses, increased requirements for the quality of the microphone can be noted. It should be the most sensitive. And the recognition algorithm itself does not always work as we would like. Extraneous noise and interference can cause a malfunction, and, as a result, errors in the text. In any case, you have to edit it after typing. So you need to dictate the text carefully and clearly. And this increases the set time.
Finally
Voice input technology is constantly being improved. Increasingly, you can meet people who are talking with their smartphone, watch or computer. Voice input is actively used in the design and manufacture of smart homes and other related solutions based on the interaction of devices with users.
Perhaps in the future the technology will come to a more perfect look when it starts to recognize speech with a high level of accuracy, regardless of noise and interference.