Factsheet on Voice Recognition
What is Voice Recognition ?
Voice recognition is a different way of entering information into a computer, it can also be
used to completely control your computer with your voice. As you talk to the computer
your words appear on the screen, or your commands are responded to.
Who can it help ?
Voice recognition can speed up your typing and is a great asset to anyone with difficulty in
entering text or controlling a computer as a result of physical disabilities or reading and
writing problems such as Dyslexia, or those who find spelling difficult, because recognized
words are always correctly spelled.
What do you need to get started ?
You will need software, usually either the one supplied with Windows Vista or Windows 7,
or a commercial program such as Dragon Naturally speaking. You will also need a
microphone headset, and we suggest printing a quick reference card to keep next to your
computer. You connect the microphone to the computer, either into the soundcard or via a
USB connection. Then follow the instructions for your software
General advice on using Voice Recognition
Can I use VR in a noisy room, such as an office or classroom ? Modern headset
microphones, such as those supplied with the products are quite good at filtering out
background noise, but if background noise is a particular issue then we can recommend a
specialist headset that will reduce the problem further.
What about specialist words ? Out of the box, voice recognition systems “know” thousands
of words including a range of words from the legal and medical fields. You will need to
teach the software new words, and tutorials with the software explain how to do this
quickly and easily.
How clearly must I speak ? Voice recognition needs you to have a consistent voice, you do
not need to have a perfect speaking voice, but if the quality of your speech varies a great
deal it can be more difficult. Some people’s voices change when they have a cold and this
may result in slightly worse recognition.
You need to take care not to strain your voice so take care to sit comfortably; speak at a
normal pitch/volume; take breaks and drink regularly.
How many people can use the software on one computer? There is no limit on the number
of users. Each one will require 20-30MB of space on the hard disk of the machine. Each
person needs to load their own voice settings before they start to dictate.
Available Products
Windows Voice Recognition
Microsoft Vista and Windows 7 have a built in voice recognition programme it does not have as
many features as NaturallySpeaking but does have a good recognition rates and is easy to use.
As it is part of the operating system it does not require any additional cost apart from a
microphone.
Getting started
Before you get started using Windows Speech Recognition, you'll need to connect a
microphone to your computer. Once you've got the microphone set up, you can train your
computer to better understand you by creating a voice profile that your computer uses to
recognize your voice and spoken commands.
1. Make sure the microphone and speakers are properly connected to your computer.
2. Open Speech Recognition by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking
Ease of Access, and then clicking Speech Recognition.
3. Click Set up microphone.
4. Follow the instructions in the wizard.
After you've got your microphone and voice profile set up, you can use Speech Recognition to
do the following:

Control your computer. Speech Recognition listens and responds to your spoken
commands. You can use Speech Recognition to run programs and interact with
Windows.
The following table shows some of the most commonly used commands in Speech Recognition.
Words in italic font indicate that you can say many different things in place of the example
word or phrase and get useful results.
To do this
Say this
Click any item by its name
Click File; Start; View
Click any item
Click Recycle Bin; Click Computer; Click file name
Double-click any item
Double-click Recycle Bin; Double-click Computer;
Double-click file name
Switch to an open program
Switch to Paint; Switch to WordPad; Switch to
program name; Switch application
Scroll in one direction
Scroll up; Scroll down; Scroll left; Scroll right
Insert a new paragraph or new line
in a document
New paragraph; New line
Select a word in a document
Select word
Select a word and start to correct it
Correct word
Select and delete specific words
Delete word
Show a list of applicable commands
What can I say?
Update the list of speech commands Refresh speech commands
that are currently available
Make the computer listen to you
Start listening
Make the computer stop listening
Stop listening
Move the Speech Recognition
microphone
Move speech recognition
Bar
Minimize the microphone bar
Minimize speech recognition
View Windows Help and Support
content about specific tasks
How do I do something?
For example, say “How do I install a printer?” and
a list of help topics is returned.
Note that this command is only available if you're
using the U.S. English Speech Recognizer.

Dictate and edit text. You can use Speech Recognition to dictate words into wordprocessing programs or to fill out online forms in a web browser. You can also use
Speech Recognition to edit text on your computer.
Getting the most from Windows Voice Recognition
You can use your voice to control your computer. You can say commands that the computer
will respond to, and you can dictate text to the computer.
Before you get started using Speech Recognition, you'll need to set up your computer for
Windows Speech Recognition. There are three steps to setting up Speech Recognition: set up
your microphone, learn how to talk to your computer, and train your computer to understand
your speech.
Before you get started, make sure that your microphone is connected to your computer.
Set Up Your Microphone
1. Open Speech Recognition by clicking the Start button
Ease of Access, and then clicking Speech Recognition.
, clicking Control Panel, clicking
2. Click Set up microphone.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Note
The success of speech recognition is directly related to the quality of the microphone you use.
The two most common types of microphones for Speech Recognition are headset microphones
and desktop microphones. Headset microphones are better suited for working with Speech
Recognition because they are less prone to picking up extraneous sounds.
Teach yourself how to talk to your computer
Windows comes with a speech training tutorial to help teach you the commands used with
Speech Recognition. The tutorial takes about 30 minutes to complete. Follow the steps below
to run the speech training tutorial:
1. Open Speech Recognition by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking
Ease of Access, and then clicking Speech Recognition.
2. Click Take Speech Tutorial.
3. Follow the instructions in the Speech Recognition tutorial.
Train your computer to recognize your speech
Speech Recognition uses a unique voice profile to recognize your voice and spoken commands.
As you use Speech Recognition, your voice profile gets more detailed, which should improve
your computer's ability to understand you.
1. Open Speech Recognition by clicking the Start button
Ease of Access, and then clicking Speech Recognition.
, clicking Control Panel, clicking
2. Click Train your computer to better understand you.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Note
Windows is currently only available in English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Simplified
Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
Dragon Naturally Speaking
This program is distributed by Nuance. Dragon Naturally Speaking is the most widely available
commercial recognition program.
Web: www.nuance.co.uk/naturallyspeaking
Getting started
The first time a you use Dragon NaturallySpeaking you will be asked to configure the audio
settings on the computer. There is a short training session to complete which allows the
program to learn your speech patterns. When you are dictating, there are a few points to bear
in mind:

The microphone should be at the back corner of your mouth.

It should be positioned approximately a thumb width away from the face.

When speaking into the microphone during the training exercises speak as you will be
speaking during your dictation periods. Allow the program to adjust to your natural
speech patterns.
Run the audio setup wizard once a week or when you find that the program is not responding
well to your voice. Ensure that the microphone is positioned consistently at the same distance
from your mouth. The microphone should be positioned about a thumb’s width from your
mouth and slightly below your bottom lip.
Following your initial training and configuration with Dragon, you should undertake any
additional training that is offered, the more familiar with your voice the program becomes, the
easier it is to use the program and dictate text.
Dictating Text
The key to getting good accuracy from speech recognition is to think about a sentence before
you say it, and then speak in phrases. DO - NOT - SPEAK- EACH -INDIVIDUAL- WORD. Dragon is a
natural language program and requires connected speech not individual words.
To start dictating text say “Start DragonPad” or “Open DragonPad” Pause for a few seconds
and then start to dictate in a steady natural voice. If Dragon NaturallySpeaking makes a mistake
in recognizing what you said, you can use the command “Cancel” or “Click Cancel” to go back
and undo what Dragon did. Then try saying the same command again.
Remember to pause slightly before and after saying the command. If the command contains
more than one word, dictate the command as one phrase without pausing between the words.
Correcting Text
Dragon sometimes makes mistakes in recognizing what you said. You may say "cat", and
Dragon writes "that". This is called a recognition error, and it must be corrected in the right
manner in order for Dragon to learn and improve its recognition of your voice. This next section
teaches you how to make corrections in the right way for better recognition!
Use the option of having the "Correct" command bring up the "Spell" dialog box in order to
make corrections more quickly and efficiently
If Dragon continues to not recognize the same words or phrases, you should train the system
after you have corrected the words
Formatting Text
Changing the size and appearance of text is always easier after the text has been dictated and
corrected. Use bold, italics or underline to add emphasis or make your text stand out.

Make the text larger or smaller
Say “Set Size #” (Note: replace # with a number)

Make the text darker and thicker
Say “Bold [text]” (for version 10)
Or “Select [text]”, text highlighted, then “Bold That” (for all versions)

Make the text slanted
Say “Italicize [text]” (for version 10)
Or “Select [text]”, text highlighted, then “Italicize That” (for all versions)
Deleting Text
Sometimes you may stumble on your words or dictate words that you don’t want included in
your document. You can erase the last words you dictated before pausing saying “Delete That”
or “Scratch That”. When you use these deleting commands, Dragon NaturallySpeaking will
erase the last sentence, phrase, or word that Dragon typed and you said before pausing.
If you want to delete an entire line of text say “Select Line” then “Scratch That” or “Delete
That”.
You can also clear your screen of all of the text as follows:




Say “Select All”
Pause briefly so the computer has time to respond to this command and select all of the
text on the screen.
Say “Delete That” or “Scratch That”
Pause briefly so that the computer has time to respond to this command and delete all
of the text on the screen before starting to dictate again.
Voice Control of Dragon NaturallySpeaking
You can take full control of your computer using only your voice. To do this there are a preset
series of commands that undertake actions on your computer when you say them here are
some of the most widely used
Commands for Moving the Cursor

You can move the cursor just as you would using the arrow keys. Say “Move up/down
3” is like pressing the up/down arrow 3 times. “Move right/left 2” is like pressing the
right/left arrow 2 times.
You can also jump the cursor to a new position just as you would with the mouse.









“Insert Before”
Lets you move the cursor to just before a word/phrase in
the text.
“Insert After”
Lets you move the cursor to just after a word/phrase.
“Go To Top”
Moves cursor to beginning of document
“Go To Bottom”
Moves cursor to bottom of document
“PageUp”
Moves cursor up one screen
“PageDown”
Moves cursor down one screen
“Go to end of line” Moves cursor to the end of the current line
“Insert befor/after XYZ”
Inserts text immediately after “xyz” in the current text
“Press Enter/Escape/F6”
Replicates key presses
Having Text Read Back
Visually impaired users may find it easier to have the dictated text read back to them instead of
struggling with the display on screen. NaturallySpeaking comes with a software computer voice
synthesizer in order to allow for the program to read back the contents of a page. It is also
possible to have other unrelated text imported into Dragon and read to the user. This option is
also easily taken advantage of. The user should select the text to be read back to them, then
give the command read that. Other reading commands include:

Read Line

Read Paragraph

Read Document

Read Window

Read to Here

Read from Here
In order to stop playback the user should push the stop playback button on the toolbar or hit
the ESC key. Since the machine is reading and info cannot be received during input voice
commands are not recognized. Holding down the right mouse button also brings up a menu of
text-to speech commands. Also, in the Options dialogue box it is possible for the user to set the
pitch, tone and speed at which the machine reads back text.
Apple Mac
Voice recognition software is also available for Apple Mac users. For further information go to
the Apple accessibility page
Sources
Microsoft Enable website http://www.microsoft.com/enable
Nuance Website: http://www.nuance.com
AbilityNet website: http://abilitynet.wetpaint.com/page/Voice+Recognition