Introducing a dialog system with barge-in processing designed for real-word use

Abstract

Recently, speech dialog systems have been used in many applications, including car navigators. However, because there are still many issues with usability and speech recognition accuracy, interactive speech has not yet become commonplace. One problem with usability is the limit placed on user timing. The user has to push a button or produce a magic word used to trigger recognition. The user must also refrain from speaking while the system is answering, playing music etc. We demonstrate a system which uses echo cancellation to process barge-in, removing constraints on the user's speech timing. For example, the user can interrupt the system in the middle of a lengthy guidance, allowing stress-free operation of the system via interactive speech.