Beta Programs
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Windows – Client desktop
For client desktop applications, the APIs are SpeechFX (the namespace System.Speech in .NET Framework 3.0) and/or SAPI 5.1 (or 5.3 in Vista). The APIs are language-independent, i.e., they are simply the programming interface to develop applications with speech functionalities. Below the APIs are the Language Packs (LPs) of each language, which usually consist in a speech recognizer and/or a text-to-speech synthesizer. These LPs are language specific, e.g: American English, European Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, etc.
Here’s an excellent introductory article:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/06/01/speechinWindowsVista/.
Download “Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Redistributable Package” (includes Managed SpeechFX System.Speech):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=10CC340B-F857-4A14-83F5-25634C3BF043&displaylang=en
Managed SpeechFX System.Speech API Documentation:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.speech.recognition.aspx
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.speech.synthesis.aspx
The best development platform is Windows Vista, which includes .NET Framework 3.0, hence SpeechFX, as well as the English recognizer and synthesizer. Additionally, 5 other languages are also available (US & UK English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Spanish), which can be downloaded for Vista using simply Windows Update.
Additionally, Windows Vista includes the “Windows Speech Recognition” User Experience, which allows you to interact with your computer using your voice. You can dictate documents and emails in mainstream applications, use voice commands to start and switch between applications, control the operating system, and even fill out forms on the Web. For more information click here and here.
You can also access some presentations of our technical sessions in the TechDays annual event, organized by Microsoft Portugal in the past years.
| • | In TechDays 2007, where we presented “New APIs for Speech Recognition and Synthesis in Portuguese for client and server applications”. You can find the session slides here and full video of the session here. |
| • | In TechDays 2008, we presented “Are You Talking to Me? – Como Integrar e Utilizar Tecnologia de Fala para o Desenvolvimento de Aplicações Desktop e IVR”. You can find the session slides here, session information here, and more information here. |
If you’re developing your application in Windows XP, natively with Visual C++ and SAPI you can view some development videos here:
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How Do I: Get Started with Speech Recognition? |
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How Do I: Use Speech Recognition in an Application? |
Microsoft Language Development Center, has developed both a “Speech Recognition Sample Engine for Portuguese (Portugal)” as well as a “Speech Recognition Sample Engine for Portuguese (Brazil)”, under our Beta Program. To access our Beta Program for one or both of these Speech Recognition Sample Engines, please register at: http://connect.microsoft.com/ and sign-up in our program using the invitation ID: MLDC-BKBY-DTBD, which will grant you full access. More information is available in the program itself.