What Is Voice Activated Dialing?
Human communication has changed dramatically over the centuries, from long-distance motions with flags and pieces of colored fabric, to lights and other signaling apparatus. The telephone made person-to-person communication much more efficient, allowing people to contact friends, business associates and others much more quickly.
At one time, people who were fortunate enough to have phones had to contact a switchboard operator who then connected them through the wires to the person on the other end of the conversation. Eventually, people were able to dial the numbers on their own, using a rotating dial system that lasted for years. In the last couple of decades, the push-button dialing system became the standard, again increasing the efficiency and speeding up the calling process. Speed-dial or one-number dialing on newer phones made this process almost instantaneous.
Now, with the advent of the newest portable phones, it is possible to speak a name or number into the built-in microphone and have the number dialed almost automatically. This is done without touching the keypad at all, or perhaps with one touch to start the process. While there still must be a transmission line or a radio-type signal from one station to another for the phone conversation to work, the act of dialing has literally become a hands-off task.
Special circuitry in the originating phone detects the audio signal (the voice) and alters these into tones that are actually used to “dial” or generate the right series of “numbers” to make the call. Some systems that have become quite popular use a speech-activated process in which the phone “listens” for a pre-programmed name or number. Newer technology allows a user to have dozens of names and numbers pre-set in the system.
Some people have found that voice-activated dialing is very useful, allowing them to move around or use their hands for other tasks while making a call. This extends the “speaker phone” world that many people are already familiar with. Others have found that the voice-activated dialing systems are a bit expensive when compared to the actual value they provide. It all depends on the individual situation, apparently.
Some of the problems that could occur with voice-activated dialing include: with some systems it is necessary to input contact names and numbers from scratch. These systems don’t always transfer existing contact information to the voice-dialing system. However, there are benefits for the elderly and people who either can’t read the numbers on the keypad or can’t use their hands.
While some systems have required the output of hundreds of dollars to get adequate voice-dialing service, there are new systems that provide much the same convenience for $150 to $200 dollars.
But most people experienced with voice-dialing equipment emphasize that it is necessary to do some homework and some serious comparison shopping in order to get just the right system. Apparently, equipment and connection systems from Unisys and Justel allow normal conversation to start and stop a call connection. This would be a major step for those who have limited use of their hands or eyes.
Category: Technology