OUR MODERN WORLD IS INCREASINGLY PERVADED BY COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY.

OUR MODERN WORLD IS INCREASINGLY PERVADED BY COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY. STUDENTS NOT BUILDING AT LEAST SOME FOUNDATION IN THESE DISCIPLINES MAY FIND THEMSELVES TO BE DISADVANTAGED IN TOMORROW'S JOB MARKET. THIS IS TRUE FOR HANDICAPPED AND NON-HANDICAPPED STUDENTS. THE HANDICAPPED POPULATION HAS, IN ADDITION, ANOTHER NEED THAT CAN LARGELY BE MET BY COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY. THAT IS THE NEED TO CONTROL ONE'S ENVIRONMENT. VOICE INPUT TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES A MEANS FOR SATISFYING THESE NEEDS. TALKING TO A COMPUTER IS AN ENTICING WAY TO ENTER THE WORLD OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY. WHEN RUNNING EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE, VOICE INPUT SEEMS TO FOCUS THE STUDENT ON THE LESSON AND NOT THE PROBLEMS OF RUNNING THE HARDWARE. A COMPUTER EQUIPPED WITH A RELIABLE SPEAKER-INDEPENDENT RECOGNITION SYSTEM AND A REMOTE MICROPHONE FORMS THE BASIS FOR GROUP SESSIONS STUDYING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY OR OTHER DISCIPLINES. THESE SAME SYSTEMS COULD BE MADE TO ACTIVATE EXTERNAL PHYSICAL DEVICES AS WELL AS SOFTWARE, GREATLY EXPANDING MANY HANDICAPPED PERSONS' SPHERE OF CONTROL. PHASE I RESEARCH WOULD EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF MAKING AN INEXPENSIVE, SPEAKER-INDEPENDENT SPEECH RECOGNITION SYSTEM FOR USE ON POPULAR MICROCOMPUTERS. THE APPROACH EMPLOYED WOULD BE FEATURE-BASED RECOGNITION AS IT LENDS ITSELF TO HIGH RELIABILITY. A TEST SYSTEM, MODELED IN SOFTWARE, WOULD BE CREATED AND EVALUATED AS PART OF PHASE I.