Speech recognition software for Linux

There are currently several speech recognition software packages for Linux. Some of them are open-source while others are proprietary. Speech recognition usually refers to software that attempts to distinguish thousands of words in a human language. Voice control may refer to software used for sending operational commands to a computer.

Native Linux speech recognition

History

In the late 1990s, a Linux version of ViaVoice (created by IBM) was made available to users for no charge. However, the free SDK was removed by the developer in 2002.

Current development status

Recently, there has been a push to get a high-quality native Linux speech recognition engine developed. As a result, numerous projects dedicated to creating Linux speech recognition solutions were established. One major hurdle is the compilation of a speech corpus to enable production of acoustic models. In response, VoxForge, which aims to collect transcribed speech for the use with free and open-source speech recognition engines under the GPL license, was set up.

Speech recognition concept

The first step starts recording an audio stream on the linux machine. Then the user has two options:

The second option is used mainly on smartphones, because they do not have the performance and disk space to process the speech recognition on the phone.

Free speech recognition engines

The following is a list of current projects dedicated to implementing speech recognition in Linux, as well as major native solutions. These are not end-user applications. These are programming libraries that a programmer may use to develop an end-user application.

Possibly Active Projects:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

It is possible for developers to create Linux speech recognition software by using existing packages derived from open-source projects.

Inactive Projects:

Proprietary speech recognition engines

Voice control and keyboard shortcuts

Speech recognition usually refers to software that attempts to distinguish thousands of words in a human language. Voice control may refer to software used for sending operational commands to a computer or appliance. Voice control typically requires a much smaller vocabulary and thus is much easier to implement.

Simple software combined with keyboard shortcuts, have the earliest potential for practically accurate voice control in Linux.

Running Windows speech recognition software with Linux

Using a compatibility layer

It is possible to use programs such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking in Linux, by utilizing Wine, though some problems may arise, depending on which version is used.[19]

Using virtualized Windows

It is also possible to use Windows speech recognition software under Linux. Using no-cost virtualization software, it is possible to run Windows and NaturallySpeaking under Linux. VMware Server or VirtualBox support copy and paste to/from a virtual machine, making dictated text easily transferable to/from the virtual machine.

See also

References

External links

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