<s>
A	O
voice-user	B-Application
interface	I-Application
(	O
VUI	O
)	O
makes	O
spoken	O
human	O
interaction	O
with	O
computers	O
possible	O
,	O
using	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
to	O
understand	O
spoken	O
commands	O
and	O
answer	B-Algorithm
questions	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
typically	O
text	B-Application
to	I-Application
speech	I-Application
to	O
play	O
a	O
reply	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
device	I-Application
is	O
a	O
device	O
controlled	O
with	O
a	O
voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
have	O
been	O
added	O
to	O
automobiles	O
,	O
home	O
automation	O
systems	O
,	O
computer	B-General_Concept
operating	I-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
home	O
appliances	O
like	O
washing	O
machines	O
and	O
microwave	O
ovens	O
,	O
and	O
television	O
remote	B-Protocol
controls	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
the	O
primary	O
way	O
of	O
interacting	O
with	O
virtual	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
on	O
smartphones	B-Application
and	O
smart	B-Device
speakers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Older	O
automated	O
attendants	O
(	O
which	O
route	O
phone	O
calls	O
to	O
the	O
correct	O
extension	O
)	O
and	O
interactive	O
voice	O
response	O
systems	O
(	O
which	O
conduct	O
more	O
complicated	O
transactions	O
over	O
the	O
phone	O
)	O
can	O
respond	O
to	O
the	O
pressing	O
of	O
keypad	O
buttons	O
via	O
DTMF	O
tones	O
,	O
but	O
those	O
with	O
a	O
full	O
voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
allow	O
callers	O
to	O
speak	O
requests	O
and	O
responses	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
press	O
any	O
buttons	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newer	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
devices	I-Application
are	O
speaker-independent	O
,	O
so	O
they	O
can	O
respond	O
to	O
multiple	O
voices	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
accent	O
or	O
dialectal	O
influences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
VUI	O
is	O
the	O
interface	B-Application
to	O
any	O
speech	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
recently	O
,	O
this	O
area	O
was	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
advances	O
in	O
technologies	O
like	O
text-to-speech	B-Application
,	O
speech-to-text	B-Application
,	O
Natural	B-Language
Language	I-Language
Processing	I-Language
,	O
and	O
cloud	O
services	O
,	O
in	O
general	O
,	O
contributed	O
to	O
the	O
mass	O
adoption	O
of	O
these	O
types	O
of	O
interfaces	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
VUIs	O
have	O
become	O
more	O
commonplace	O
,	O
and	O
people	O
are	O
taking	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
value	O
that	O
these	O
hands-free	O
,	O
eyes-free	O
interfaces	B-Application
provide	O
in	O
many	O
situations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designing	O
a	O
good	O
VUI	O
requires	O
interdisciplinary	O
talents	O
of	O
computer	B-General_Concept
science	I-General_Concept
,	O
linguistics	O
and	O
human	O
factors	O
psychology	O
–	O
all	O
of	O
which	O
are	O
skills	O
that	O
are	O
expensive	O
and	O
hard	O
to	O
come	O
by	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
a	O
VUI	O
designed	O
for	O
a	O
small	O
group	O
of	O
power	B-General_Concept
users	I-General_Concept
(	O
including	O
field	O
service	O
workers	O
)	O
,	O
should	O
focus	O
more	O
on	O
productivity	O
and	O
less	O
on	O
help	O
and	O
guidance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
applications	O
should	O
streamline	O
the	O
call	O
flows	O
,	O
minimize	O
prompts	O
,	O
eliminate	O
unnecessary	O
iterations	O
and	O
allow	O
elaborate	O
"	O
mixed	O
initiative	O
dialogs	B-General_Concept
"	O
,	O
which	O
enable	O
callers	O
to	O
enter	O
several	O
pieces	O
of	O
information	O
in	O
a	O
single	O
utterance	O
and	O
in	O
any	O
order	O
or	O
combination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
applications	O
for	O
VUI	O
included	O
voice-activated	O
dialing	O
of	O
phones	O
,	O
either	O
directly	O
or	O
through	O
a	O
(	O
typically	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
)	O
headset	O
or	O
vehicle	O
audio	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2007	O
,	O
a	O
CNN	O
business	O
article	O
reported	O
that	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
was	O
over	O
a	O
billion	O
dollar	O
industry	O
and	O
that	O
companies	O
like	O
Google	O
and	O
Apple	O
were	O
trying	O
to	O
create	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
been	O
years	O
since	O
the	O
article	O
was	O
published	O
,	O
and	O
since	O
then	O
the	O
world	O
has	O
witnessed	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
devices	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Google	O
created	O
a	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
engine	O
called	O
Pico	O
TTS	O
and	O
Apple	O
has	O
released	O
Siri	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
devices	I-Application
are	O
becoming	O
more	O
widely	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
innovative	O
ways	O
for	O
using	O
the	O
human	O
voice	O
are	O
always	O
being	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
Xbox	B-Application
Live	I-Application
allows	O
such	O
features	O
and	O
Jobs	O
hinted	O
at	O
such	O
a	O
feature	O
on	O
the	O
new	O
Apple	B-Device
TV	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
Apple	B-Device
Mac	I-Device
and	O
Windows	O
PC	B-Device
provide	O
built	O
in	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
features	O
for	O
their	O
latest	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
Microsoft	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
provide	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
integrated	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
into	O
their	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
to	O
provide	O
a	O
mechanism	O
for	O
people	O
who	O
want	O
to	O
limit	O
their	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
mouse	B-Device
and	O
keyboard	O
,	O
but	O
still	O
want	O
to	O
maintain	O
or	O
increase	O
their	O
overall	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
voice	B-Application
control	I-Application
,	O
a	O
user	O
may	O
dictate	B-Application
documents	O
and	O
emails	O
in	O
mainstream	O
applications	O
,	O
start	O
and	O
switch	O
between	O
applications	O
,	O
control	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
format	O
documents	O
,	O
save	O
documents	O
,	O
edit	O
files	O
,	O
efficiently	O
correct	O
errors	O
,	O
and	O
fill	O
out	O
forms	O
on	O
the	O
Web	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
learns	O
automatically	O
every	O
time	O
a	O
user	O
uses	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
is	O
available	O
in	O
English	O
(	O
U.S.	O
)	O
,	O
English	O
(	O
U.K.	O
)	O
,	O
German	O
(	O
Germany	O
)	O
,	O
French	O
(	O
France	O
)	O
,	O
Spanish	O
(	O
Spain	O
)	O
,	O
Japanese	O
,	O
Chinese	O
(	O
Traditional	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Chinese	O
(	O
Simplified	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
comes	O
with	O
an	O
interactive	O
tutorial	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
train	O
both	O
the	O
user	O
and	O
the	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
all	O
the	O
features	O
provided	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
provides	O
a	O
wizard	O
for	O
setting	O
up	O
the	O
microphone	O
and	O
a	O
tutorial	O
on	O
how	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
Mac	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
X	I-Operating_System
computers	O
come	O
pre-installed	O
with	O
the	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
Apple	O
website	O
recommends	O
a	O
user	O
buy	O
a	O
commercial	O
product	O
called	O
Dictate	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
user	O
is	O
not	O
satisfied	O
with	O
the	O
built	O
in	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
or	O
a	O
user	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
built	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
their	O
OS	O
,	O
then	O
a	O
user	O
may	O
experiment	O
with	O
a	O
commercial	O
product	O
such	O
as	O
Braina	B-General_Concept
Pro	I-General_Concept
or	O
DragonNaturallySpeaking	B-Application
for	O
Windows	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
</s>
<s>
and	O
Dictate	B-Application
,	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
software	O
for	O
Mac	B-Device
OS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
mobile	O
device	O
running	O
Android	B-Application
OS	I-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Protocol
Windows	I-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
iOS	O
9	O
or	O
later	O
,	O
or	O
Blackberry	O
OS	O
provides	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
built	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
each	O
mobile	O
phone	O
's	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
,	O
a	O
user	O
may	O
download	O
third	O
party	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
applications	O
from	O
each	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
's	O
application	O
store	O
:	O
Apple	B-Application
App	I-Application
store	I-Application
,	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
,	O
Windows	B-Application
Phone	I-Application
Marketplace	I-Application
(	O
initially	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
Marketplace	I-Operating_System
for	I-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
)	O
,	O
or	O
BlackBerry	B-Application
App	I-Application
World	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	O
has	O
developed	O
an	O
open	O
source	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
called	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
which	O
allows	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
perform	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
such	O
as	O
:	O
send	O
text	O
messages	O
,	O
listen	O
to	O
music	O
,	O
get	O
directions	O
,	O
call	O
businesses	O
,	O
call	O
contacts	O
,	O
send	O
email	O
,	O
view	O
a	O
map	O
,	O
go	O
to	O
websites	O
,	O
write	O
a	O
note	O
,	O
and	O
search	O
Google	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
available	O
for	O
all	O
devices	O
since	O
Android	B-Application
2.2	I-Application
"	I-Application
Froyo	I-Application
"	I-Application
,	O
but	O
the	O
settings	O
must	O
be	O
set	O
to	O
English	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
change	O
the	O
language	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
user	O
is	O
prompted	O
when	O
he	O
or	O
she	O
first	O
uses	O
the	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
feature	O
if	O
he	O
or	O
she	O
would	O
like	O
their	O
voice	O
data	O
to	O
be	O
attached	O
to	O
their	O
Google	O
account	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	O
introduced	O
the	O
Google	B-Application
Assistant	I-Application
with	O
Android	B-Application
7.0	I-Application
"	I-Application
Nougat	I-Application
"	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Amazon.com	B-Application
has	O
the	O
Echo	B-Device
that	O
uses	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	O
custom	O
version	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
to	O
provide	O
a	O
voice	B-Application
interface	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
is	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
mobile	O
device	O
's	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
7.5	O
,	O
the	O
speech	O
app	O
is	O
user	O
independent	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
:	O
call	O
someone	O
from	O
your	O
contact	O
list	O
,	O
call	O
any	O
phone	O
number	O
,	O
redial	O
the	O
last	O
number	O
,	O
send	O
a	O
text	O
message	O
,	O
call	O
your	O
voice	O
mail	O
,	O
open	O
an	O
application	O
,	O
read	O
appointments	O
,	O
query	B-Library
phone	O
status	O
,	O
and	O
search	O
the	O
web	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
10	O
introduces	O
Cortana	B-Application
,	O
a	O
voice	B-Application
control	I-Application
system	O
that	O
replaces	O
the	O
formerly	O
used	O
voice	B-Application
control	I-Application
on	O
Windows	B-Protocol
phones	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Apple	O
added	O
Voice	B-Application
Control	I-Application
to	O
its	O
family	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
iOS	I-Operating_System
devices	I-Operating_System
as	O
a	O
new	O
feature	O
of	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
4S	I-Operating_System
,	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
,	O
iPad	B-Device
Mini	I-Device
1G	I-Device
,	O
iPad	B-Operating_System
Air	I-Operating_System
,	O
iPad	B-Device
Pro	I-Device
1G	I-Device
,	O
iPod	B-Operating_System
Touch	I-Operating_System
5G	I-Operating_System
and	O
later	O
,	O
all	O
come	O
with	O
a	O
more	O
advanced	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistant	I-Protocol
called	O
Siri	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
Control	I-Application
can	O
still	O
be	O
enabled	O
through	O
the	O
Settings	O
menu	O
of	O
newer	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Siri	B-Application
is	O
a	O
user	O
independent	O
built-in	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
feature	O
that	O
allows	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
issue	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
assistance	O
of	O
Siri	B-Application
a	O
user	O
may	O
issue	O
commands	O
like	O
,	O
send	O
a	O
text	O
message	O
,	O
check	O
the	O
weather	O
,	O
set	O
a	O
reminder	O
,	O
find	O
information	O
,	O
schedule	O
meetings	O
,	O
send	O
an	O
email	O
,	O
find	O
a	O
contact	O
,	O
set	O
an	O
alarm	O
,	O
get	O
directions	O
,	O
track	O
your	O
stocks	O
,	O
set	O
a	O
timer	O
,	O
and	O
ask	O
for	O
examples	O
of	O
sample	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
queries	B-Library
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
Siri	B-Application
works	O
with	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
and	O
wired	O
headphones	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2014	O
Amazon	B-Application
introduced	O
the	O
Alexa	B-Application
smart	I-Application
home	I-Application
device	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
main	O
purpose	O
was	O
just	O
a	O
smart	B-Device
speaker	I-Device
,	O
that	O
allowed	O
the	O
consumer	O
to	O
control	O
the	O
device	O
with	O
their	O
voice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Now	O
almost	O
all	O
the	O
appliances	O
are	O
controllable	O
with	O
Alexa	B-Application
,	O
including	O
light	O
bulbs	O
and	O
temperature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
allowing	O
voice	B-Application
control	I-Application
,	O
Alexa	B-Application
can	O
connect	O
to	O
smart	O
home	O
technology	O
allowing	O
you	O
to	O
lock	O
your	O
house	O
,	O
control	O
the	O
temperature	O
,	O
and	O
activate	O
various	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
form	O
of	O
A.I	O
allows	O
for	O
someone	O
to	O
simply	O
ask	O
it	O
a	O
question	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
response	O
the	O
Alexa	B-Application
searches	O
for	O
,	O
finds	O
,	O
and	O
recites	O
the	O
answer	O
back	O
to	O
you	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
for	O
cars	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
CNET	O
,	O
should	O
allow	O
a	O
driver	O
to	O
issue	O
commands	O
and	O
not	O
be	O
distracted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CNET	O
stated	O
that	O
Nuance	O
was	O
suggesting	O
that	O
in	O
the	O
future	O
they	O
would	O
create	O
a	O
software	O
that	O
resembled	O
Siri	B-Application
,	O
but	O
for	O
cars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
software	I-Application
on	O
the	O
market	O
in	O
2011	O
had	O
only	O
about	O
50	O
to	O
60	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
,	O
but	O
Ford	B-General_Concept
Sync	I-General_Concept
had	O
10,000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
CNET	O
suggested	O
that	O
even	O
10,000	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
was	O
not	O
sufficient	O
given	O
the	O
complexity	O
and	O
the	O
variety	O
of	O
tasks	O
a	O
user	O
may	O
want	O
to	O
do	O
while	O
driving	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
for	O
cars	O
is	O
different	O
from	O
voice	B-Application
command	I-Application
for	O
mobile	O
phones	O
and	O
for	O
computers	O
because	O
a	O
driver	O
may	O
use	O
the	O
feature	O
to	O
look	O
for	O
nearby	O
restaurants	O
,	O
look	O
for	O
gas	O
,	O
driving	O
directions	O
,	O
road	O
conditions	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
nearest	O
hotel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
technology	O
allows	O
a	O
driver	O
to	O
issue	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
on	O
both	O
a	O
portable	O
GPS	O
like	O
a	O
Garmin	O
and	O
a	O
car	O
manufacturer	O
navigation	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
List	O
of	O
Voice	B-Application
Command	I-Application
Systems	O
Provided	O
By	O
Motor	O
Manufacturers	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
most	O
voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
are	O
designed	O
to	O
support	O
interaction	O
through	O
spoken	O
human	O
language	O
,	O
there	O
have	O
also	O
been	O
recent	O
explorations	O
in	O
designing	O
interfaces	B-Application
take	O
non-verbal	O
human	O
sounds	O
as	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
these	O
systems	O
,	O
the	O
user	O
controls	O
the	O
interface	B-Application
by	O
emitting	O
non-speech	O
sounds	O
such	O
as	O
humming	O
,	O
whistling	O
,	O
or	O
blowing	O
into	O
a	O
microphone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
such	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
non-verbal	O
voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interface	I-Application
is	O
Blendie	O
,	O
an	O
interactive	O
art	O
installation	O
created	O
by	O
Kelly	O
Dobson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
approaches	O
include	O
adopting	O
non-verbal	O
sounds	O
to	O
augment	O
touch-based	O
interfaces	B-Application
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
pose	O
a	O
substantial	O
number	O
of	O
challenges	O
for	O
usability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
graphical	O
user	O
interfaces	B-Application
(	O
GUIs	O
)	O
,	O
best	O
practices	O
for	O
voice	B-Application
interface	I-Application
design	O
are	O
still	O
emergent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
purely	O
audio-based	O
interaction	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
tend	O
to	O
suffer	O
from	O
low	O
discoverability	O
:	O
it	O
is	O
difficult	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
understand	O
the	O
scope	O
of	O
a	O
system	O
’s	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
speech	B-Application
recognition	I-Application
technology	I-Application
has	O
improved	O
considerably	O
in	O
recent	O
years	O
,	O
voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
still	O
suffer	O
from	O
parsing	O
or	O
transcription	O
errors	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
user	O
’s	O
speech	O
is	O
not	O
interpreted	O
correctly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Effective	O
system	O
design	O
to	O
maximize	O
conversational	B-General_Concept
understanding	I-General_Concept
remains	O
an	O
open	O
area	O
of	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Voice	B-Application
user	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
that	O
interpret	O
and	O
manage	O
conversational	O
state	O
are	O
challenging	O
to	O
design	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
inherent	O
difficulty	O
of	O
integrating	O
complex	O
natural	B-Language
language	I-Language
processing	I-Language
tasks	O
like	O
coreference	O
resolution	O
,	O
named-entity	B-General_Concept
recognition	I-General_Concept
,	O
information	B-Library
retrieval	I-Library
,	O
and	O
dialog	B-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
voice	B-Protocol
assistants	I-Protocol
today	O
are	O
capable	O
of	O
executing	O
single	O
commands	O
very	O
well	O
but	O
limited	O
in	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
manage	O
dialogue	O
beyond	O
a	O
narrow	O
task	O
or	O
a	O
couple	O
turns	O
in	O
a	O
conversation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pocket-size	O
devices	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
PDAs	B-Application
or	O
mobile	O
phones	O
,	O
currently	O
rely	O
on	O
small	O
buttons	O
for	O
user	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
either	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
device	O
or	O
are	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
touch-screen	O
interface	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
Apple	O
iPod	B-Device
Touch	I-Device
and	O
iPhone	B-Device
Siri	B-Application
Application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nonetheless	O
,	O
such	O
a	O
VUI	O
would	O
also	O
benefit	O
users	O
of	O
laptop	O
-	O
and	O
desktop-sized	O
computers	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
would	O
solve	O
numerous	O
problems	O
currently	O
associated	O
with	O
keyboard	O
and	O
mouse	B-Device
use	O
,	O
including	O
repetitive-strain	O
injuries	O
such	O
as	O
carpal	O
tunnel	O
syndrome	O
,	O
the	O
challenges	O
of	O
navigating	O
and	O
inputting	O
text	O
within	O
digital	O
interfaces	B-Application
by	O
the	O
visually	O
impaired	O
,	O
and	O
slow	O
typing	O
speed	O
on	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
inexperienced	O
keyboard	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Laptop	O
computers	O
could	O
essentially	O
be	O
cut	O
in	O
half	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
size	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
keyboard	O
half	O
would	O
be	O
eliminated	O
and	O
all	O
internal	O
components	O
would	O
be	O
integrated	O
behind	O
the	O
display	O
,	O
effectively	O
resulting	O
in	O
a	O
simple	O
tablet	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Television	O
remote	B-Protocol
controls	I-Protocol
and	O
keypads	O
on	O
dozens	O
of	O
other	O
devices	O
,	O
from	O
microwave	O
ovens	O
to	O
photocopiers	O
,	O
could	O
also	O
be	O
eliminated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
call	O
by	O
characters	O
in	O
science	O
fiction	O
TV	O
shows	O
and	O
films	O
such	O
as	O
Star	B-Operating_System
Trek	I-Operating_System
,	O
could	O
activate	O
the	O
VUI	O
and	O
prepare	O
it	O
to	O
receive	O
further	O
input	O
by	O
the	O
same	O
speaker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Therefore	O
,	O
accurate	O
speech-recognition	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
along	O
with	O
some	O
degree	O
of	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
on	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
VUI	O
,	O
would	O
be	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Privacy	O
concerns	O
are	O
raised	O
by	O
the	O
fact	O
that	O
voice	B-Application
commands	I-Application
are	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
providers	O
of	O
voice-user	B-Application
interfaces	I-Application
in	O
unencrypted	O
form	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
thus	O
be	O
shared	O
with	O
third	O
parties	O
and	O
be	O
processed	O
in	O
an	O
unauthorized	O
or	O
unexpected	O
manner	O
.	O
</s>
