Possible Uses for Spoken Dialogue Systems
Spoken Dialogue Systems allow more complex user interaction than is possible through just speech recognition software. Even very simple systems that process only spoken commands such as 'turn off the light' benefit from dialogues where the system can ask the user questions (e.g. 'which light did you mean?'), give context-sensitive help (e.g. 'I know three lights: in the hallway, in the bedroom, and outside the front door'), and provide feedback (e.g. 'The light in the hallway has now been switched off'). Commercial examples of spoken dialogue systems are telephone services where users speak to an automated system to book cinema tickets or request information.
Applications to Home Care
Spoken Dialogue Systems have great potential for home care. For example, people with chronic health problems such as high blood pressure would not need to write their blood pressure readings into a diary – they could just phone them in.
People could also use dialogue systems to book healthcare appointments. The day before the appointment, the system could then ring them to remind them of the appointment. If something had come up in the meantime, people could reschedule the appointment at that point.But spoken dialogue systems are not limited to the phone - they can be put to work in the home more generally. People with a disease that limits their movement, such as arthritis, could switch lamps on and off or operate the cooker using only their voice. Such a system could also alert users if the food were being overcooked, or if a door had been left open for too long. Community alarm systems with a speech interface could ask users whether they are fine before alerting the call centre.
