Speech recognition in websites and documents is an important part of universal design for the web. This article will outline how speech recognition, developed for people with disabilities, is useful to a variety of people.
Speech Recognition in Websites and Documents
One principle of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requires websites to be operable. In other words, people should be able to navigate websites using various input devices and methods. Furthermore, WCAG requires websites to be robust, to work with current and future assistive technologies.
Speech recognition, or speech-to-text, is useful to people operating many types of technology, including:
- Computers
- Phones or tablets
- Smart TVs
- Global positioning system (GPS) technology
People can now operate these and many other devices through speech, rather than buttons or other input methods.
This frequently-used software was first developed to benefit people with disabilities. Like other software programs that support web accessibility, speech recognition programs make it possible for people to use computers and other technologies. Many people with mobility disabilities affecting their hands use robust speech recognition software to operate their entire computer systems with their voices, instead of with a keyboard, mouse, or other input method.
However, many other people, with and without disabilities, find speech recognition convenient, and use it in combination with other methods. Like audio narration, speech recognition began for people with disabilities, but is now becoming popular for people without disabilities as well. This form of outreach from people with disabilities to non-disabled people is known as the curb cut effect.
Therefore, content creators who design their websites to be compatible with speech recognition software, or include dictation features, will benefit many people. However, speech recognition is not merely a benefit, but a necessity. As a result, all websites should be operable through speech recognition.
Websites designed to be accessible by keyboard navigation are also accessible to people using other input methods, including speech recognition. Therefore, web designers who make their websites keyboard-accessible will also support these other input methods.