Speech Recognition - Alternative Tokens

Even though developing speech recognition engines is a complex and challenging task, using software that leverages these engines and libraries is comparatively easier. However, a common issue in voice recognition is that sometimes a spoken word can be matched to multiple written words, as with the words "for," "fore," and "four."

That's where alternative tokens come into the picture. When the engine cannot make an exact match it will give you a set of alternative tokens. In the Java Speech API. You can specify the number of alternatives that you want to see. What the API guarantees is that you will get no more than that number of alternatives. There will be many cases where the engine can make an exact match and alternatives are not needed at all.

Recently, I've been experimenting with CloudGarden and found a bug in the system. The number of alternatives specified is not being honored, as I still get two or three alternatives even when the setting is configured for only one.

Looks like I will have take another look at the IBM implementation. Wish IBM hired a proper web master so that finding information on their site doesn't feel like the quest for karla

23 March 2023 Update: CloudGarden has long been discontinued and Watson is IBM's main offering in this segment now. Watch out for a post on Watson real soon