Jim Larson

Jim's slides

Outline

• Past
• Present
• Future

History

• 1849: Telephone invented by Antonio Meucci
• 1876: First Patent by Alexander Graham Bell
• 1980s: First IVR systems
• 1995: AT&T introduces PML, many other languages follow.
• 1998: W3C organises conference on IVR markup languages
• 1998: VoiceXML Forum formed to design one language
• 2000: VoiceXML 1.0 released, and submitted to W3C
• 2004: VoiceXML 2.0 released.

The W3C Speech Interface Platform

What's it got to do with the web?

VoiceXML

• Big market share
• Has its own consortium: The VoiceXML Forum
• Biggest WG in W3C

Voice Browser WG

VoiceXML

Speech Synthesis: SSML

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<speak version="1.0" xml:lang="en-US">   
  <voice gender="female">
    Oscar nominations to be revealed
  </voice>
  <voice name="Mike">
    The film world awaits the 78th Academy Awards shortlist, with 
    <emphasis level="strong">Brokeback Mountain</emphasis> 
    among the contenders.
  </voice>
</speak>

Speech Recognition: SRGS/SI

<grammar version="1.0" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/06/grammar"
         xml:lang="en-US" tag-format="semantics/1.0" root="answer">
  <rule id="answer" scope="public">
    <one-of>
      <item><ruleref uri="#yes"/></item>
      <item><ruleref uri="#no"/></item>
    </one-of>
  </rule>
  <rule id="yes">
    <one-of>
      <item>yes</item>
      <item>yeah<tag>out="yes";</tag></item>
      <item><token>you bet</token><tag>out="yes";</tag></item>
      <item xml:lang="fr-CA">oui<tag>out="yes";</tag></item>
    </one-of>
  </rule>
  <rule id="no">
    <one-of>
      <item>no</item>
      <item>nope</item>
      <item>no way</item>
    </one-of>
    <tag>out="no";</tag>
  </rule>
</grammar>

Problems

The VIF is outdated:

• Missing features widely implemented
• VoiceXML too monolithic

VoiceXML 2.1

• Ajax!
• Recording
• Dynamic links, etc.

2002: CCXML

• VoiceXML has little telephony control (transfer, disconnect)
• CCXML adds new controls
• and takes the telephony controls outside of VoiceXML
• "Wraps" VoiceXML

CCXML process

The Speech Interface Platform

The next generation SIF

New Standards

• SSML 1.1
• PLS
• SCXML
• VoiceXML3

Links

• This presentation: w3.org/2006/Talks/0523-maxf-www
• Voice Browser page: w3.org/Voice