Philips Speechmike equiped with new Speech Control Software

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Royal Philips Electronics is to equip the SpeechMike, the world's leading dictation microphone, with SpeechControl. The software allows the SpeechMike to be used intuitively and straight out of the box with the Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition program. The microphone's function buttons have also been programmed with the most frequent speech recognition commands, enabling users to start a recording, move the cursor or correct passages at the press of a button. Users can also adapt the device to their own individual preferences by assigning specific functions to various buttons. SpeechControl also supports configuration of the USB foot switch from Philips for use with Dragon NaturallySpeaking. This is part of Philips' strategy to naturally integrate digital speech processing solutions into the everyday workflows of document-critical sectors and to re-establish dictation as a productivity and efficiency-driven process.
"SpeechControl underlines Philips' leading technological position in the digital speech processing sector. The intelligent integration of cutting-edge dictation hardware and the world's leading speech recognition solution will take digital dictation to new heights in terms of productivity gains," said Dr. Thomas Brauner, CEO and Category Leader, Philips Speech Processing. "The integration of the SpeechMike with Dragon NaturallySpeaking is the result of growing interest in speech recognition - among companies and public institutions, in the legal sector, in research, science and medicine. It opens up a wealth of opportunity for users to define practices which best suit their individual preferences."
SpeechControl features a clear, intuitive input mask via which the SpeechMike buttons can be individually assigned the various control commands. Critical workflows can now be performed much more quickly using only the thumb to operate the SpeechMike; for example, in future, the user will only need to press the relevant SpeechMike buttons to immediately activate correction mode rather than having to take multiple steps with the mouse or voice. The foot switch can also be used to start or stop a recording, leaving the hands free. In terms of operational ease and user-friendliness, this represents a considerable improvement when editing and correcting recognized text.
"Test users welcomed the improved use of the trackball in Dragon Pad. They said that SpeechControl was intuitive and very powerful. The default programming of the individual buttons was also found to be neat and logical, making operation easier and increasing user-friendliness," said Wolfgang Spanlang, product manager at Philips Speech Processing. "Thus workflows are a breeze."
This new, easy-to-use application allows the SpeechMike to be used with Dragon NaturallySpeaking right out of the box with the minimum of installation effort. Commands can also be configured for use with other programs. For example, PowerPoint presentations can be controlled effortlessly using the SpeechMike.
All SpeechMikes and USB foot switches as well as the SpeechMike Air, available from the fall, will now be shipped with the software which can also be downloaded free of charge from the Philips Speech Processing website at www.philips.com/dictation. All users of the current SpeechMike generation can upgrade easily and free of charge online. <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-