Johannesburg, 28 May 2004
Speech technology can play a significant role in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic devastating sub-Saharan Africa, Reuben September, Telkom`s Chief Technical Officer, said last night.
Computer software applications, for example, will be able to determine prescriptions for antiretrovirals from the available information. Speech technology will enable patients to get the correct dosage via the telephone, thereby eliminating the stigma associated with interpersonal communication on a sensitive subject, September said.
These types of innovations contribute to positive socio-economic developments. They are the at the heart of Telkom`s Centre of Excellence Programme, in which traditionally disadvantaged universities partner with mentor universities to encourage collaborative research and development that helps bridge the digital divide.
Telkom launched the University of the North near Polokwane as a fully-independent centre. This particular Centre of Excellence (CoE) has been linked with the University of Pretoria - as part of Telkom`s CoE development programme - for many years.
Industry partner Hewlett-Packard also joined the CoE as a partner and Marpless continues as an industry partner. The CoE is situated in the School of Computational and Mathematical Sciences, Computer Science. The emphasis in the centre is on automatic speech technology, which focuses on the recognition of continuous speech, as well as on speech synthesis.
Collaboration is taking place with the AST Group at Stellenbosch as well as the group at the University of Pretoria. These groups are actively working the indigenous languages spoken in the southern and eastern parts of SA, as well as Afrikaans and South African English.
The research is focusing on establishing the necessary dictionaries and concomitant tools for automatic recognition of continuous speech in Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa, ie Northern Sotho), Xitsonga, Setswana and Tshivenda.
"I am delighted that research at the University of the North will offer new opportunities to bring the computer age to people who are not necessarily computer literate and will make a major contribution to bridging the digital divide," September said.
A new concept, called VoiceXML, will enable researchers to develop complex voice-driven applications which do not require an in-depth understanding of the complexities of synthesising human voice from text inputs, and turns text into the spoken word.
"It is this type of intensified speech technology research that can bring practical solutions to challenges facing humans. Telkom expects that developments will reach the point where commercial services can be introduced in three to four years from now. This will enable people to transact their business and interact with computers using only speech," September said.
People will be able to register births, deaths, marriages, apply for social grants and even apply for jobs using speech technology. Current successful speech technology applications include dating services, travel bookings, etc.
Trevor Belcher, Sales Manager at Hewlett-Packard, said: "Research and education should serve to close and not to widen the digital divide. HP`s commitment is about a transfer of knowledge and skill to tutors and students alike, as well as access to the technologies that enable an environment that is driven by services and is rich in content and available universally."
Telkom`s CoE programme is a collective effort between Telkom, the telecommunications industry and government to promote research in communications technology and allied social sciences.
The programme provides facilities that encourage young scientists and engineers to pursue their careers in SA. Education institutions and Telkom`s corporate partners also reap rewards, as the work undertaken at the CoEs is relevant to their research and business, respectively.
The University of the North is the fourth university to establish a fully-fledged Telkom CoE. The others are the University of the Western Cape, University of Transkei and the University of Zululand.
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