[nflug] Software lets programmers code hands-free - New Scientist article

[Tony Abou-Assaleh]

Alain Desilets, who started this project, will be speaking at CEOS'06 in
Halifax this June. Mako Hill, from MIT Media Labs, will be giving the
keynote.

The conference web site is:

http://ceos.dal-acm.ca

I happen to be a co-chair of the conference. We are still accepting
presenters (for about a week more). If you'd like to present, email me a
one or two paragraphs description of your talk.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Cheers,

TAA

-----------------------------------------------------
Tony Abou-Assaleh
Lecturer, Computer Science Department
Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada, L2S 3A1
Office: MC J215
Tel:    +1(905)688-5550 ext. 5243
Fax:    +1(905)688-3255
Email:  taa at acm.org
WWW:    http://www.cosc.brocku.ca/~taa/
----------------------[THE END]----------------------

On Sat, 29 Apr 2006, Joe wrote:

> Got this on another list.  Thought it might be of general interest.
>
> Joe
>
> Something was going to happen sometime I suppose. Not quite xvoice
> though...
>
> http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn9066
>
>
> Software lets programmers code hands-free
>        * 17:58 26 April 2006
>        * NewScientist.com news service
>        * Duncan Graham-Rowe
>
>
> A new speech recognition tool promises to let programmers write clean
> code without ever having to lay a finger on their keyboard.
>
> The tool, called VoiceCode, has been developed to help programmers with
> repetitive strain injury (RSI). This is a common affliction for people
> who spend a lot of time using a keyboard or mouse and causes pain in
> muscles, tendons and nerves in a sufferer's arms and back. Some
> estimates suggest 22% of all US computer programmers, or 100,000 people,
> suffer from the condition.
>
> Standard speech recognition software can be used to control a computer
> but is usually of little help to programmers, says Alain D=C3=A9silets of=
 the
> National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, one of the creators of
> VoiceCode. This is because each symbol and function and every syntactic
> peculiarity must be carefully spelled out.
>
> VoiceCode lets a programmer dictate code in a more natural way, D=C3=A9si=
lets
> says, rapidly translating their utterances into awkward programming
> syntax. For example, in order to write "if (currRecNum < maxOffSet)" a
> VoiceCode user only needs to say: "if current record number is less than
> max offset then". Traditional voice-recognition programs could require
> nearly 50 individual words to be dictated.
>
>
> Chat not quit
> VoiceCode currently works with the programming language Python but could
> be adapted to support others, D=C3=A9silets claims. Although not as fast =
as
> using a regular mouse and keyboard, he believes it should help many
> programmers with RSI get back to work.
>
> "Often people just quit," says Quintijn Hoogenboom, a programmer from
> the Netherlands who develops specialised speech recognition software.
>
> Hoogenboom notes that other speech recognition programs let users create
> their own shortcuts but believes VoiceCode is unique in its ability to
> automatically recognise spoken syntax and turn it into correct code.
>
> D=C3=A9silets began working on VoiceCode when he himself developed RSI a
> decade ago. He now wants to release the software so that other
> programmers can evaluate it. But he admits that it needs to be easier to
> install. "It typically takes the better part of a day to get all the
> pieces installed and working properly," he says. "For someone who has
> trouble typing, that may seem insurmountable."
>
> D=C3=A9silets presented the project at the annual Computer and Human
> Interaction (CHI2006) conference in Montreal on Monday. The work was
> carried out with David Fox from Harvard University and Stuart Norton
> from the University of California, Berkeley.
>
>
>
> --
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> "When the multitude detests a man, inquiry is necessary; when the
> multitude likes a man, inquiry is equally necessary."
> Confucius, Analects (circa 6th century BC)
>
> Or more pertinently:
> "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
> Benjamin Franklin
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
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