Introducing a Virtual Assistant to the Lab: A Voice User Interface for the Intuitive Control of Laboratory Instruments
Introducing a Virtual Assistant to the Lab: A Voice User Interface for the Intuitive Control of Laboratory Instruments
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DOI：
10.1177/2472630318788040
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发表时间：
2018-10-01
期刊：
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Beutel, Sascha
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Austerjost, Jonas;Porr, Marc;Beutel, Sascha
智能虚拟助理（VA）和相应智能设备的引入给我们的日常生活带来了新的自由度。语音控制和互联网连接的设备允许从全球各地进行直观的设备控制和监控，并定义了人机交互的新时代。尽管虚拟助理在家庭自动化领域特别成功，但他们作为人工智能驱动的实验室助理也显示出巨大的潜力。可能的应用包括逐步读取标准操作程序 (SOP) 和配方、向控件朗读化学物质或反应参数以及实验室设备和传感器的读数。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种改造方法，使标准实验室仪器成为物联网 (IoT) 的一部分。我们建立了一个语音用户界面（VUI）来控制这些设备并读出特定的设备数据。已建立基础设施的基准显示语音命令识别具有较高的平均准确度 (95% +/- 3.62)，并揭示了 VUI 在实验室内未来应用的巨大潜力。我们的方法显示了市售 VA 作为实验室助理的普遍适用性，并且可能会引起身体缺陷或视力低下的研究人员的特别兴趣。所开发的解决方案可实现免提设备控制，这在实验室日常工作中是一个至关重要的优势。
The introduction of smart virtual assistants (VAs) and corresponding smart devices brought a new degree of freedom to our everyday lives. Voice-controlled and Internet-connected devices allow intuitive device controlling and monitoring from all around the globe and define a new era of human-machine interaction. Although VAs are especially successful in home automation, they also show great potential as artificial intelligence-driven laboratory assistants. Possible applications include stepwise reading of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and recipes, recitation of chemical substance or reaction parameters to a control, and readout of laboratory devices and sensors. In this study, we present a retrofitting approach to make standard laboratory instruments part of the Internet of Things (IoT). We established a voice user interface (VUI) for controlling those devices and reading out specific device data. A benchmark of the established infrastructure showed a high mean accuracy (95% +/- 3.62) of speech command recognition and reveals high potential for future applications of a VUI within the laboratory. Our approach shows the general applicability of commercially available VAs as laboratory assistants and might be of special interest to researchers with physical impairments or low vision. The developed solution enables a hands-free device control, which is a crucial advantage within the daily laboratory routine.