It’s not just about recognition of the words either, it is about what
to do with the words. Here is where cognitive engines and AI
come into play. Some of the biggest players in the industry – for
example Microsoft, with its open source cognitive recognition
engine – can be leveraged to understand the context of the
words. “How do I get to Penn Station?” may sound simple
enough, but it needs to be put into context. Location awareness
could indicate you likely mean Penn Station in NYC and
assumptions about transportation mode. If you were sitting at
Columbus Circle in NYC, the answer could be, “Take the A or C
subway line to the 34st St. Penn Station stop.”, but here we
assumed it was Penn Station New York and not Penn Station
Newark or Philadelphia.
The search for a deeper meaning
The real challenge comes in what is behind the voice recognition
systems – both from the integration of the IoT devices to the
system itself, and ensuring the commands requested make sense.
Here, we need to further leverage those cognitive engines as a
check and validation system. Think of someone accidentally giving
a command to “Turn off cooling system to reactor 4” instead of
reactor 3 - which has already been shut down, or a doctor using
the system to prescribe a harmful dose of medication because he
accidently said 400 grams instead of 400 milligrams. These might
be extreme examples, but there will need to be a holistic view of
the actions that are being automated to prevent human error and
bring in broader intelligence to understand the actions related to
voice-controlled requests. For example, maybe “Turn off cooling
system to reactor 4” was correct, but the system would then need
to understand the set of operational procedures to implement
those actions.
Creating an API platform for true voice
integrated solutions
An interesting element that could tie in strategically with the
development of true voice-controlled enterprise environments
comes from the innovations occurring in the traditional voice
communication world. We are seeing the explosion of CPaaS
(Communication Platform as-a-Service) in the enterprise,
leveraging APIs to transform today’s applications into voice-
integrated solutions. Some of the major voice communication
vendors are now entering this market, providing CPaaS
infrastructures with a standardized set of APIs to enable
companies to integrate communications into their business
processes.
While we traditionally look at integration as things like
incorporating voice and video services into existing applications –
think of a banking application that allows you to move from an
online application to a voice call with your banking advisor – I
believe these will play a big part in that “voice-rst” environment
by leveraging the rich API infrastructure of CPaaS to communicate
to applications and things.
Behind the communications infrastructure requirements, just how
CPaaS or other platforms communicate with devices really needs
to be standardized before we will see rapid development of voice
technology. Each of today’s consumer-based voice-controlled
systems have their own interfaces, own API integrations and, as
with the historic “Beta vs. VHS” battle from decades ago, may
lead to product obsolescence. Just as a consumer doesn’t want to
invest in the latest “smart coffee maker” only to nd that the
platform that controls it was just discontinued, an enterprise
wants to ensure that investments they make into new
technologies won’t be obsolete before they are able to realize a
return.The best is yet to come
The good news is there are a set of technologies in the works to
help minimize potential obsolescence. Frameworks like IoTivity are
being developed to build a standardized platform. We are already
seeing the value, benets and rapid expansion of new voice
applications for consumers. In the near term, we will see some of
the basic use cases move into the enterprise. Longer term, as
advances continue to be made in voice recognition, voice security
and simplication/standardization in device connectivity, we will
see more and more voice-rst activities in both the consumer and
enterprise world to help reduce complexity and improve our
productivity.Links:
* VoiceLabs view on the various layers needed to support a voice-
rst approach in the consumer world:
http://voicelabs.co/2017/01/15/the-2017-voice-report/* Sphinx project: https://cmusphinx.github.io/* Internet Trends report by Mary Meeker:
http://www.kpcb.com/blog/2016-internet-trends-reportFEATURE
Pierre Samson,
Vice President of Sales,
APAC, Alcatel-Lucent EnterpriseS I ABased in Singapore, Pierre is responsible for strengthening and
expanding ALE business and presence in the APAC region. Pierre
has more than 12 years of experience in IT and communications,
having headed the unied communication and collaboration
business unit for large accounts at Orange Business Services,
alongside Chief Operating Ofcer and Chief Sales Ofcer roles at
Lexsi, a cyber security specialist which was acquired by Orange in
2016.