New voice-recognition system for UCD

Chinafoot

Taken from here:

29.06.2006 - University College Dublin (UCD) has installed one of the largest voice-recognition systems in Europe. Callers can be put directly through to staff members or individual schools simply by speaking the name of the person or school they want into the phone.
The system was supplied by communications services provider Damovo. The service starts working when operators are not available to answer in person. UCD calls the system Direct 24 as it hopes now to operate a 24-hour university, as staff and students will be able to communicate at any time.

Software from Nuance operates the service. This runs on two standard servers connected directly to UCD's Nortel PBX. Damovo has committed to delivering an accurate call-completion rate of 95pc and to do this it had to work closely with UCD to make sure that the software could recognise the names of all people included in the system’s directory.

“We have a broad multicultural community in UCD with people from many countries and with names from many different languages,” said Cxema Pico, systems manager for UCD Buildings and Services. “The directory had to be customised to recognise all relevant names, including those with Irish or other international names.”

The directory’s capacity for 10,000 names means that various versions of a person’s name can be stored, for example their full name or their academic title and surname. It is also integrated with other directory services, which ensures that Direct 24 is updated whenever other systems change. This reduces the need for double entry of names and makes management and administration simpler and easier.

In the future, the service will be able to provide callers with voice-activated access to static information, such as building opening hours and other campus information.

UCD evaluated several systems before choosing Damovo, whose service Pico said was functionally the best of those available. “Damovo also offered very competitive pricing and the level and flexibility of support they promised was excellent,” he added.

Interesting. I wonder how much it cost...

irlrobins

Prob cheaper than employing a operator who strictly only works 9 to 5 and not during 1 - 2. I rang up once asking for outside line at 12.55 and was asked to ring back after lunch as she was going in a few mins. :mad: Takes 30 secs to get an external number for me....

Chakar

Wow, Brady is really getting into his job as you all know he wants a 24 hour university.

Red Alert

Could they not have done an in-house job with someone in computer science?

Seems like a waste of time and money. Nowadays most people assume direct dial in's available and look online for the number.

irlrobins

Ah it's quite a complex task. Voice analysis, linking with database, interfacing with existing PBX. Something best left to professionals. Sure half the people in CSI have difficulty printing.

Quote from one of my collegues "Where has all the paper in the printer gone?"
Where do you think it went????? *sigh*

Also people come and go alot, or move office. I think I'm on my third extension number since I started as a PG. They gave up printing an internal phone directory as it was out of date as soon as it came out.

Red Alert

can you not dial external no's from the labs - how can we do all this interdisciplinary collaboration without it!?

irlrobins

You can dial local numbers only. Mobile, national and international calls go thru switchboard. Unless you're given rights to direct dial (senior members of staff). Which they'd never give to PG's cos they'd all be ringing home for free.

humbert

I'm amazed/sceptical, is there really software out there that will reliably recognise all those names with all those multilingual and wrong pronunciations, or will we be saying it into the phone for about half an hour in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways? for example I'd love to see it try to recognise someone from say chinas attempt at some unusual irish name!

Chakar

Hmm.. thats a thinker alright

irlrobins

Yea I'm sure it's not 100% perfect or even claim to be. But then again, if someone is making a complete unintelligble hash of trying to pronounce a person's name, even a human listener might be "Wtf???".

But usually for a short burst of speech (i.e. "John Smith") computer recognition is quite good. Longer sentences would be harder.

humbert

a human listener can ask what department though, actually when I think back to my dealings with the UCD admin I say bring on the computers, I've a talking alarm clock that could compete with them:mad:

TheVan

The Revenue have a similar system and it works really well....I'm sure its cheaper in the long run to have a machine and one person on the phones as a back-up rather than 10 people on the phones anyway

Chakar

If that technology could manage customer service like those call centres in India that would save millions of euro.
Suppose the technology is a bit of a while ahead.

arbeitsscheuer

I can't wait for the first person that asks, distinctly, for the "History Department"... and gets put through to "Celtic Studies".

It happens ppl. This is the nature of voice recognition technology: Cr*p.

seamus

humbert wrote:

I'm amazed/sceptical, is there really software out there that will reliably recognise all those names with all those multilingual and wrong pronunciations, or will we be saying it into the phone for about half an hour in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways? for example I'd love to see it try to recognise someone from say chinas attempt at some unusual irish name!

It says 95%, which I can well believe. The one thing that people will have trouble adjusting to (expect to see these things popping up everywhere within ten years) is that you'll have to speak clearly into the phone, and not with your mouth full or in a mumbled deep Kerry accent or Dublin scumbag squeak. I've worked in a countrywide call centre, and believe me, so many people are unable to speak clearly it's unbelievable. Most operators develop an "ear" for understanding people.

Modern voice recognition works well - as long as people are willing to work with it, and not try to make it not work.

Mr.Nice Guy

I hope it's not going to lead to a situation similar to that radio ad with the German guy:

"Tell me Dubliner, vot time does ze store open?"

"Noyan"

"Please I must know ven ze store opens."

"Noyan!"

"I really need to know ven ze store opens!"

"I told ya! Noyan! Noyan o'clock alroi!"

elmyra

seamus wrote:

It says 95%, which I can well believe. The one thing that people will have trouble adjusting to (expect to see these things popping up everywhere within ten years) is that you'll have to speak clearly into the phone, and not with your mouth full or in a mumbled deep Kerry accent or Dublin scumbag squeak. I've worked in a countrywide call centre, and believe me, so many people are unable to speak clearly it's unbelievable. Most operators develop an "ear" for understanding people.

Modern voice recognition works well - as long as people are willing to work with it, and not try to make it not work.

Ditto to that. I work in a countrywide call centre too and the mumbled speech people expect you to put up with is unreal, that and their insistance that you should be able to find something by their telling you you that it's 'down the road'. I hope this voice rec software does make people fall into line and speak properly. It sounds like a pretty interesting venture.

Riamfada

So what happens if lil' ol Irlrobins picks up his phone while stating to his company that "Hugh Brady is a berk" when he turns back to the phone he hears Sir Brady state "whats this, did you just call me a berk?"

TheVan

I imagine the consequences would be thus:

Brady would care enough to ring you up. His opening salvo would be a tirade against you calling him a "berk" - "What do you mean I'm a berk? Can you not think of any better four letter word to call me?"

Then he would realise that he is simply contributing to the Brady paranoia infecting the college and go home to do some tending to the rhododendrons and azaleas and maybe drink a cup of camomile.

VroomVroom

Iarnrod Eireann operate a similar system for their timetabling information. I'm sure if people, and especially tourists, can make a decent attempt at pronouncing Irish place names, then a system like this will realistically make it to a 95% call completion rate.

Systems like this don't actually cost a huge amount of money, and as pointed out by someone else, they will work after 5pm, won't take lunch breaks, won't rinf in sick and have to be replaced by expensive agency call centre staff at short notice, don't want holidays and as it becomes fine tuned, you can start to redeploy/retire existing staff which will get you back the initial investment in a short time.

singingstranger

This has been in for a few months, almost a year I think. It's on ext 2424, it doesn't take department names but only staff ones, and any that aren't in English either never come back, or you have to pronounce them in an Oxbridge accent to get it, because the automated voice that comes back has one. I remember being in the Observer office last year and trying the editor's name (in Irish) and it came back garbled beyond belief.

irlrobins

singingstranger wrote:

This has been in for a few months, almost a year

Yea was in beta for a while. Still is according to the site....

Stepherunie

TheVan wrote:

I imagine the consequences would be thus:

Brady would care enough to ring you up. His opening salvo would be a tirade against you calling him a "berk" - "What do you mean I'm a berk? Can you not think of any better four letter word to call me?"

Then he would realise that he is simply contributing to the Brady paranoia infecting the college and go home to do some tending to the rhododendrons and azaleas and maybe drink a cup of camomile.

You give him too much credit.

"Burke you say? But my surname is Brady....."

panda100

singingstranger wrote:

or you have to pronounce them in an Oxbridge accent to get it, .

And not even that works cos I ve got an oxbridge-ish accent and whenever I say 'No' to the 11811 women asking do I want to be put through to the number,they still always put me straight through....frustrating!

Anyway voice recognition in belfield!!what next? retina scanning instead of library cards......its all a bit too csi for old UCD.

elmyra

So call 11850...we ask you in person so we know what you're saying

Stupid voice recognition stealing jobs.

zap

singingstranger it has started doing school and support unit names now try Newman services or first response as an example. When it's finished it will do buulding, library etc opening hours etc. etc,