Sadly that rules me out
as I can’t do much with US English.
Jan
From:
freeswitch-users-bounces@lists.freeswitch.org
[mailto:freeswitch-users-bounces@lists.freeswitch.org] On Behalf Of Kashif Kahn
Sent: 13. mai 2010 20:22
To:
Subject: Re: [Freeswitch-users]
Robust Affordable Speech Recognition
Hi Jan,
Our answers to your questions are as follows. Please note that there is a wide
variety of information available on our website under "Speech Engine"
pull-down menu. You should also review Freeswitch section under
"Soft-PBX" for free connector and engine pricing information. Our
website is: http://www.vestec.ca/
1) What languages do you support
We currently support American English and working on major European and Asian
language acoustic models as well.
2) What are your recognition stats per language?
Three points are worthy of note here:
(a) we have rigorously benchmarked our recognition accuracy against leading
commercial engines in the market and can safely say that we deliver among the highest
recognition accuracy in the industry;
(b) generally speaking, a native speaker can expect a recognition accuracy -
without "tuning" - in the 90% range while a non-native speaker can
expect a recognition accuracy - again, without "tuning" - in the 80%
range. Grammar "tuning" - for example, via addition of custom
pronunciations for difficult to recognize words - generally improves
recognition accuracy by an additional 5-10%;
(c) in comparative testing against some of the leading commercial speech engines,
we scored an accuracy improvement of over 3%. See: http://www.vestec.ca/recog_acc
3) What are the benefits of using this compared
to Sphinx/Pocketsphinx?
There are two fundamental advantages of using Vestec over Sphinx:
(a) Vestec speech engine comes with a robust acoustic model while for Sphinx
you need to develop your own acoustic model. (Acoustic model is the "ear
drum" if you will that does the recognition). Now, development of a high
quality acoustic model is no mean feat, even if you have the necessary tools.
For starters you need high quality training data that can cost tens of
thousands of dollars. Next, you need highly specialized knowledge in order to
properly manipulate the various parameters of training tools for optimal
recognition quality. Finally, you need to be fully prepared to undertake a
trial-and-error process - sometimes spanning 6-8 months - to achieve the
desired recognition accuracy results, with the right data and training tools.
(b) Unlike Sphinx, Vestec speech engine supports industry standard grammar
writing format. This allows you to port your existing standard grammars to the
engine as well as make sure that your work is reusable. Similarly, we provide a
variety of useful grammar writing tools and functions that are not available
with Sphinx to make the developer's job a lot easier.
4) How does the (1) installation of a license
happen, (2) license check happen.
You need to put the license files that you purchase from Vestec webstore under
a specific directory. The engine then takes care of the rest. The license check
is host based. In other words, every license is bounded to one physical/virtual
machine. You cannot buy one port license and expect to run the speech engine on
several machines.
5) Does the licensing server support redundancy
schemes?
We used to have a redundancy scheme but recently disabled it in preparation for
the release of a new architecture. The redundancy scheme will be integrated in
the new architecture that will support MRCP. Please note that software
maintenance - covering patches and major upgrades - is free for the first 12
months since date of license purchase. So, you will be able to transition to
the new architecture over next several months if you were to purchase a license
now.
Hope this helps.
Best regards,
-Kashif
From: Jan
Berger <jan.berger@video24.no>
To:
Sent: Thu, May 13, 2010 11:36:54
AM
Subject: Re: [Freeswitch-users]
Robust Affordable Speech Recognition
Hi,
Hope you don’t mind
a few nosy questions.
What languages do you
support (1) national characters, (2) pre-build databases.
What are your recognition
stats per language?
What are the benefits of
using this compared to Sphinx/Pocketsphinx?
How does the (1)
installation of a license happen, (2) license check happen.
Does the licensing server
support redundancy schemes?
Jan
From:
freeswitch-users-bounces@lists.freeswitch.org
[mailto:freeswitch-users-bounces@lists.freeswitch.org] On Behalf Of Kashif Kahn
Sent: 13. mai 2010 16:04
To:
Subject: [Freeswitch-users] Robust
Affordable Speech Recognition
Dear All,
All those who have wanted a speech recognition solution for Freeswitch but
found the software cost too expensive or the recognition accuracy
unsatisfactory, please consider Vestec Speech Engine for Freeswitch at: http://www.vestec.ca/products
A starter kit - which is a specially priced one port (ie. one channel) license
for the standard engine - is available for only $25. Additional ports
(channels) licenses can be purchased for $99/port. The engine comes with a
free-of-charge Freeswitch connector, thereby allowing direct interaction via
Dialplan.
Best regards,
-Kashif
Kashif Kahn
VP, Business Development
Vestec, Inc.
Waterloo, ON Canada
phone: (519) 885-7615