On the feasibility of voice input to an on-line computer processing system

An on-line digital computer processing system is considered in which an ordinary telephone is the complete terminal device, input to the computer being provided as a sequence of spoken words, and output to the user being audio responses from the machine. The feasibility of implementing such a system with a FORTRAN-like algebraic compiler as the object processor is considered. Details of a specific word recognition program are given. This technique depends on three simplifying restrictions, namely, a “small” vocabulary set, “known” speakers, and a “moment of silence” between each input word. Experimental results are presented giving error rates for different experimental conditions as well as the machine resources required to accommodate several users at a time. The results show that at this time it is both economically and logically feasible to handle at least 40 users at a time with an IBM 360/65 computer.

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