The Hindu Business Line : Use your voice for taking out cash, sending SMS

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New Delhi, Jan. 22 If you find it laborious punching out your text messages on the small keys of a mobile phone or the numerous buttons on an ATM machine while withdrawing cash, here is a new technology that will enable you to do both by just using your voice.

BSNL floats tender

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, for instance, has floated a tender to procure the technology that will enable its 20 million mobile users across the country to send SMS by using their voice. Bharti Airtel, Aircel, Reliance Communications and Spice have also launched the service in some of their operating circles. Group messaging is also possible through this system.

Similarly, when you withdraw cash at an ATM, you may not be required to use your card. With just a fingerprint or through a PIN, you could be talking to the ATM on the amount you would like to withdraw or to know your cash balance. You would have the machine talking to you giving you all the details.

IBM technology

IBM India Research Lab is deploying the voice-based interface with some of the banks in India.

"Based on our research, we find that consumers prefer voice-based interface. There have been concerns on the extent to which the technology can be relevant for mobile phones because they have wider applications, however in ATMs, due to its limited applications, it would ensure higher accuracy," said Dr Ashish Verma, Research member, IBM India Research Lab.

IBM is also using the technology to enable users to write letters on a computer without having to use the keyboard.

Mr Saket Agarwal, COO, Cellebrum (operates voice based messaging for Spice), said that the technology is more useful for illiterate people, though the uptake in the mobile segment is yet to happen due to interoperability issues. Analysts estimate that the revenue from the speech technology market would be greater than $3 billion by 2009.

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