2. The State of the Art in VoiceXML Chetan Sharma, MS Graduate Student School of CSIS, Pace University

3. Introduction VoiceXML (VXML) is a Web-based markup language for human- computer voice dialogs, a derivative of XML VXML was introduced with collaboration between IBM, Motorola, Lucent and AT&T VXML 1.0 is a specification of VXML Forum VXML leverages the Internet for voice application development and delivery The VoiceXML language provides a clean and simple means for:  Playing audio  Recognizing speech and touch-tone (DTMF) input  Controlling the flow of a phone call

4. VXML Interpreter The heart of this system is a VXML interpreter Dialog is initiated when the Telephone Resource Manager receives an incoming call Banking E-mail Web Surfing Paging Services Web Server Other Services Other Devices VXML Interpreter Telephone Network

5. Components of a VXML System Any web site can be a VXML content server Requires no special hardware or software VXML scripts are very similar to HTML documents Examples:  tag indicates that the system should playback a piece of recorded audio  tag is used to indicate an INPUT fieldVXML VXML Gateway controls the interpretation of the script and its interaction with the user Scripts may be embedded server-side or client-side

6. Tools for developing VXML Applications IBM’s WebSphere Voice Server SDK TellMe Studio by TellMe Networks, Inc. Motorola’s Mobile ADK Nuance Communications’ V-Builder BeVocal Café by BeVocal Inc.

7. IBM’s WebSphere Voice Server SDK Leverages the multimedia capabilities Provides a desktop based simulation environment for testing voice applications Components:  IBM’s ViaVoice Speech Recognition Engine  Text-to-Speech Engine  VXML Browser  DTMF Simulator

8. TellMe ™ Studio by TellMe Networks TellMe Studio consists of:  MyExtensions: Application development and publication MyStudio: Allows developers to access Syntax Checker Record by phone option Scratchpad or external URL DTMF generator A Typical Snapshot of Flow of TellMe ™ Platform

9. Motorola’s Mobile ADK Components:  IDE that supports validation of VXML Application  Desktop based VXML Simulator  Microsoft’s agent- based application

10. Nuance Communications’ V-Builder Consists of:  Visual IDE to develop VXML based applications  Fundamental elements: text areas, text fields, buttons and menus that form the part of the IDE  Also incorporates Nuance SpeechObjects for common dialogs, entry, database and web queries

11. BeVocal Café by BeVocal, Inc. Consists of:  File Management (for uploading grammar and audio files)  VXML Checker (to validate VXML content)  Trace Tool (for tracing and debugging apps)  Log Browser (for viewing the call trace log)  Port Estimator

12. Goals and Advantages of VXML Goals:  To bring the full power of web development and content delivery to voice response applications  To enable integration of voice services with data services Advantages:  Minimizes client/server interactions  Shields application authors from low-level, and platform- specific details  Separates user interaction code (in VXML) from service logic (CGI scripts)  Promotes portability across implementation platforms  Safely handles shared network-based applications

13. Thank You