SBIR Phase II: (IT-B5) Feasibility to run novel voice interface on a low-power microcontroller

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二期研究项目将实施一个微型信息管理系统，以满足视障用户的访问需求。目前为视障人士提供的信息技术速度缓慢，在手持白色手杖或导盲犬的情况下很难操作。视障人士将从免手/免眼信息系统中受益匪浅，该系统操作起来快得多，也更容易使用。该项目将开发一种名为“薇薇安”的语音操作个人数字助理（PDA），其速度比盲文PDA快10倍。第一阶段的研究结果证明了在集成微控制器上实时语音处理算法的可行性，而不需要硬件浮点算法。该二期项目的成果预计将产生一种类似于最先进的媒体播放器的可穿戴设备，其处理速度提高10倍，尺寸缩小10倍。全球有超过1.6亿视障人士，仅在美国就有1000万，这项拟议中的研究是朝着一种设备迈出的关键一步，这种设备将比目前的替代品更好地满足他们的移动信息管理需求。此外，该设备将影响视力正常的人的移动信息管理。在第一阶段项目中，对使用多种语言的视力良好的用户进行了可用性试验，结果表明，为视力和视障用户提供一个强大而快速的人机界面，以替代图形用户界面。此外，这种语音技术适合集成到移动设备中，例如2007年销售超过3亿部的移动电话。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II research project will implement a miniature information management system that is suitable to the access requirements for visually impaired users. Current information technologies for the visually impaired are slow and difficult to operate while holding a white cane or guide dog. Visually impaired people will benefit greatly from a hands-free/eyes-free information system that is much faster to operate and easier to access. The project will develop a voice-operated personal digital assistant (PDA), called Vivian, which performs 10 times faster than Braille PDAs. The outcome of the Phase I study demonstrated the feasibility of real-time speech processing algorithms on integrated microcontrollers without hardware floating-point arithmetic. The outcome of this Phase II project is anticipated to result in a wearable device similar to a state of the art media player with 10X faster processing and 10X smaller in size.With more than 160 million visually impaired people worldwide, 10 million in the US alone, the proposed research is a critical step towards a device that will address their mobile information management needs significantly better than current alternatives. Moreover, this device should impact mobile information management for sighted people. The results of usability trials with sighted users speaking multiple languages conducted during the Phase I project, indicate that the outcomes of a powerful and fast alternative human computer interface to graphical user interfaces for sighted and visually impaired users. Additionally, this voice technology is suitable for integration into mobile appliances such as mobile phones for which over 300 million were sold in 2007.