Nuance speech recognition and Ben Cook, world’s fastest texter, head-to-head in text competition

Got this in from Dave at Schwartz who correctly predicted I’d be interested!

Nuance, if you haven’t come across’em, are a leading provider of speech recognition systems to business and consumers around the world. Now, here’s the rub. They’re putting their money where their mouth is — they’ve got hold of Ben Cook, the world’s fastest texter — and they’re pitting him against their speed recognition technology in a race to see how’s faster!

This will be fun, but with a serious point. I have a pretty bad perspective on speech recognition. I simply cannot stand phoning up the cinema booking lines to get a ticket for the cinema in Basildon only to have the system say, ‘You said Thurrock,’ and then take me into the Thurrock cinema menu. Not useful at all. I also tried out that dragon stuff ages ago. It always sort-of-worked, but really, really badly. Could be my slightly Scottish accent.

So the fact that Nuance are doing this is good for the industry, I reckon. It’ll show us all how the technology has come on.

Anyway here are the details:

Nuance Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAN), a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions, will host the “The Amazing Race: Mobile Text Messaging,” a challenge to determine the fastest and most accurate way to send text messages and email using mobile devices.

What: In a classic match-up of man vs. machine, the Amazing Race pits the most proficient 3-key and T-9 typists, including the world champion of text messaging, against Nuance Mobile Dictation, a new technology that allows mobile device users to dictate messages.

Who: Ben Cook, recently crowned the world champion of text messaging, will race against Nuance Mobile Dictation, the speech recognition technology that allows mobile phone users to enter messages using speech. Cook, a teen from Utah, holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest entry of a 160-character standardized message on a mobile device. The Nuance Amazing Race will feature the same text Cook used to win the championship, as well as common text messages that users would send in day-to-day conversatio ns.

When: Tuesday, October 24, 2006
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST

Where: The Mobile Email Amazing Race will take place at Conversations Mobile, a premier speech event created especially for the mobile communications industry.
JW Marriott Grande Lakes, 4040 Central Florida Parkway, Orlando, FL

Why: Mobile subscribers sent over a trillion SMS messages last year. Although texting in the United States has previously lagged behind Europe and Asia, texting is growing in popularity with 12.5 bi llion messages sent in the US during the month of June 2006, up 71 percent from 7.3 billion messages in June 2005[*]. One barrier for the adoption of texting by mobile users is the cumbersome phone keypad, which significantly constrains data entry. Speech solutions from Nuance Mobile eliminate the need to manually input text, giving mobile phone users a more natural way to enter messages, up to five times faster than using a keypad or predictive text.

How: Program information and a detailed conference agenda are available online at www.conversations2006.com/mobile. To attend the Amazing Race, contact Kristen Wylie at (781) 565-5428.

If I was in Orlando, I’d be there. 🙂