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Type of feature
Natural language speech recognition (NLSR) is a licensed feature. You must have RTU licenses to use this feature.
About natural language speech recognition
NLSR provides a natural conversational interface with IVR systems. Not only can NLSR be used to recognize particular words and phrases, it can also interpret and assign meaning to the speech it recognizes.
For example, under the more basic forms of automatic speech recognition (ASR), a caller can respond only to specific prompts, such as "Say `one' if you want information about..." or "Say `yes' if this is correct." NLSR enables you to write applications that ask the caller more open-ended questions, such as a banking application that presents the caller with a list of options and then asks "What would you like to do?" Then, when the caller responds "I'd like to know the balance of my checking account, please," the system can recognize what kind of information the caller is asking for (the balance in a checking account ) and can automatically direct the call to a new prompt that would ask for the checking account number. This technology provides a more natural way of interacting with callers.
It is worth noting that NLSR is also able to take into account grammatical structures. This allows it, for instance, to recognize and deal appropriately with differences in statements like the following caller responses:
"I would like to fly from Chicago to LAX."
"I need to get from LAX to Chicago."
NLSR is also capable of understanding natural numbers ("seventy-six" instead of "seven six"), natural dates ("July 26th" instead of "zero seven two six") and natural currency ("25 dollars" instead of "two five zero zero").
Hardware requirements
NLSR requires the following hardware:
In addition to these requirements, you must also have one or more remote NLSR servers, depending on the NLSR engine requirements. Hardware requirements for these NLSR servers are provided by the NLSR engine vendor.
Software requirements
The NLSR feature requires the following software:
Setup requirements
To set up the NLSR feature:
Note:
Installation of the NLSR software packages is password protected and must be performed by Avaya or a certified third-party service provider. Avaya must also provision the RTU licenses for using this feature on the Avaya IR system.
Application development considerations
A prerequisite to creating and deploying NLSR applications is creating the required NLSR grammars. Check with your NLSR vendor for the specifics on how to create and install the required grammars. In addition to creating the actual NLSR grammars, you must also create stub grammars for each NLSR grammar you intend to use in your application.
In a typical NLSR application, external functions are used to:
Other proxy external functions are used to:
With these external functions, you can incorporate natural language speech recognition functionality into your IVR Designer applications.
Using this feature
Administer the NLSR feature using the Speech Administration screens in Web Administration.
For more information
