2.2. New Technologies to Help People with Disabilities and Elderly People 2.2.2 Speech Processing 2.2.2.1 Introduction and State of the Art

It is well known that speech plays a key role in communication and it explains why humans also want to have speech as a means of communication/interaction with computers. Although human-like speech dialogue with computers is still far off, even with current state-of-the-art technology, the benefits and potential of speech processing are obvious. As will be seen in the next sections, this is especially true in applications for persons with disabilities. Well-known examples are reading machines for blind people, voice control for wheel chairs or speech-based dictation systems for physically impaired computer users.