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The VoiceXML to Instant Messaging Demo

Step -1. What's all this?

A little reality check. The goal of this demonstration is to let you experience the combination of VoiceXML (speech recognition and text-to-speech, tied to the telephone network) with instant messaging — what we call a "multimodal" application, since it combines serveral modes of input and output.

The goal is not to dictate instant messages — that's an entirely different problem. The goal is to send instant messages in conjunction with or instead of spoken announcements, and to accept instant messages in conjunction with spoken input.

Step 0. Demo Disclaimer, Contact Information

Of course, all usual disclaimers apply — this is a demo, after all. Bear in mind that from time to time remote servers are reconfigured — for example, I recently discovered that all my phone numbers in the demo were out of date. If the demo fails, please contact me so I can repair the damage!

Step 1. Caller ID Check

Step one is to check your phone for caller ID. Some cell phones, notably ones in California, USA, do not send caller ID information. This demo currently uses caller ID information to identify you — I realize that I can ask people without caller ID to say their account number, I just haven't modified the demo yet.

To check that your caller ID works properly, call my demo number for a readback at +1 407 849-4847. In honor of the Californians, I am using some pre-recorded text-to-speech prompts from Rhetorical; in particular, their wonderful "Southern California Female" voice, one of my favorites. (Mixing two different text-to-speech voices is actually a poor user-interface design choice — note the jarring transition between the announcements and the readback of the telephone number — let it be a lesson to you!)

Step 2. Instant Messaging

You need a Jabber-compatible instant messaging client to receive instant messages, and a login on a Jabber-compatible server. I recommend that you get a login from jabber.org.

Instructions on how to install a Jabber client and get a login, and a list of Jabber clients, may be found here. Details are beyond the scope of this demo; I'm sure you'll figure it out.

Step 3. Registration

You need to register your caller ID and your client's IM login. Step this way.

(If you're already registered, skip to step 4.)