Research- Types of interfaces

As usability engineers we are interested in how to make technology easy to learn and use

We are concerned with how to design products so that people can be productive as possible with the product, as quickly as possible. Designing to optimize usability means paying specific attention to how the interface looks and acts

This includes

¨ Ensuring that the interface matches the way people need or want to accomplish a task

¨ Using the appropriate modality for example visual or voice at appropriate time

¨ Spending adequate design time on the interface

What are the types of interfaces?

There are several types of interfaces.in the past and still around to some extent were character based user interfaces then graphical user interfaces became prevlent and next came web user interfaces WUI and then speech user interfaces

What is speech interface?

It would be simple to answer but it is not

Because it is a relatively new idea to have our technology involve speech. This is a field that is just starting to grow. Like any new field, the definitions and terminologies are not standard

Speech interfaces

The term speech interface describes a software interface that employs wither human speech or simulated human speech. You can further break down interfaces into auditory user interfaces and graphical user interfaces with speech.

Auditory user interfaces AUI

An auditory user interface is an interface which relies primarily or exclusively on audio for interaction including speech and sounds. This means that commands issued by the machine or computer as well as all commands issued by the human to control the machine or computer are executed primarily with speech and sounds. Although AUI may include a hardware component such as a key pad or buttons visual displays are not used for critical information

Examples are

¨ Medical transcription software that allows doctors to dictate medical notes while making rounds

¨ Automobile hands free systems that allow drivers to access travel information and directions

¨ Interactive voice response systems in which users access information by speaking commands such as menu numbers to listen to information of their choice

¨ Products for the visually impaired that rely only on audio text and cues

Graphical user interfaces with speech

AUI where the user interacts with the software primarily via speech.we call these multi-modal interfaces ie graphical user interfaces with speech or S/GUI for speech/GUI

¨ A word processor that allows users to dictate text instead of or in addition to typing it in

¨ Web navigation software that allows users to navigate to and within websites by using voice

¨ Talking dictionaries that speak definitions

In these S/GUI applications, tasks can

¨ Be completed using speech only where users issue a speech command or listen to the software speak to the software speak to them

¨ Rely on visual or manual gui aspects for example viewing a graphic or clicking a hyperlink

¨ Require or at least allow a combination of both a GUI

Non-speech audio

Some interface elements include audio but not speech these interface elements include music and sounds.some non speech audio is included in almost all interfaces of any type including S/GUI , AUI,and GUIs .examples of non speech audio include

¨ The computer beeps when the user makes an error

¨ The user clicks on a map and hears a low tone to indicate that the water to be foudna t that site is deep in the ground or a high tone to indicate that the water is closer to the surface

This is taken from the book "Designing Effective Speech Interfaces" by Susan Weinschenk and Dean T Barker