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The State of the Art in VoiceXML. Chetan Sharma, MS Graduate Student School of CSIS, Pace University. Introduction. VoiceXML (VXML) is a Web-based markup language for human-computer voice dialogs, a derivative of XML
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The State of the Art in VoiceXML Chetan Sharma, MS Graduate Student School of CSIS, Pace University
Introduction • VoiceXML (VXML) is a Web-based markup language for human-computer voice dialogs, a derivative of XML • VXML was introduced with collaboration between IBM, Motorola, Lucent and AT&T • VXML 1.0 is a specification of VXML Forum • VXML leverages the Internet for voice application development and delivery • The VoiceXML language provides a clean and simple means for: • Playing audio • Recognizing speech and touch-tone (DTMF) input • Controlling the flow of a phone call
VXML Interpreter • The heart of this system is a VXML interpreter • Dialog is initiated when the Telephone Resource Manager receives an incoming call Web Surfing Banking E-mail Other Services Paging Services Web Server VXML Interpreter Other Devices Telephone Network
Components of a VXML System • Any web site can be a VXML content server • Requires no special hardware or software • VXML scripts are very similar to HTML documents • Examples: • <PROMPT> tag indicates that the system should playback a piece of recorded audio • <FIELD> tag is used to indicate an INPUT fieldVXML • VXML Gateway controls the interpretation of the script and its interaction with the user • Scripts may be embedded server-side or client-side
Tools for developing VXML Applications • IBM’s WebSphere Voice Server SDK • TellMe Studio by TellMe Networks, Inc. • Motorola’s Mobile ADK • Nuance Communications’ V-Builder • BeVocal Café by BeVocal Inc.
IBM’s WebSphere Voice Server SDK • Leverages the multimedia capabilities • Provides a desktop based simulation environment for testing voice applications • Components: • IBM’s ViaVoice Speech Recognition Engine • Text-to-Speech Engine • VXML Browser • DTMF Simulator
TellMe Studio consists of: MyExtensions: Application development and publication MyStudio: Allows developers to access Syntax Checker Record by phone option Scratchpad or external URL DTMF generator TellMe™ Studio by TellMe Networks A Typical Snapshot of Flow of TellMe ™ Platform
Motorola’s Mobile ADK • Components: • IDE that supports validation of VXML Application • Desktop based VXML Simulator • Microsoft’s agent-based application
Nuance Communications’ V-Builder • Consists of: • Visual IDE to develop VXML based applications • Fundamental elements: text areas, text fields, buttons and menus that form the part of the IDE • Also incorporates Nuance SpeechObjects for common dialogs, entry, database and web queries
BeVocal Café by BeVocal, Inc. • Consists of: • File Management (for uploading grammar and audio files) • VXML Checker (to validate VXML content) • Trace Tool (for tracing and debugging apps) • Log Browser (for viewing the call trace log) • Port Estimator
Goals and Advantages of VXML • Goals: • To bring the full power of web development and content delivery to voice response applications • To enable integration of voice services with data services • Advantages: • Minimizes client/server interactions • Shields application authors from low-level, and platform-specific details • Separates user interaction code (in VXML) from service logic (CGI scripts) • Promotes portability across implementation platforms • Safely handles shared network-based applications