Speech recognition software for Linux

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Native Linux speech recognition[edit]



Current development status[edit]

Recently, there has been a push to get a high-quality native Linux speech recognition engine developed. As a result, numerous projects dedicated to creating Linux speech recognition solutions were established. One major hurdle is the compilation of a speech corpus to enable production of acoustic models. In response, VoxForge, which aims to collect transcribed speech for the use with free and open-source speech recognition engines under the GPL license, was set up.

Speech recognition concept[edit]

The first step starts recording an audio stream on the linux machine. Then the user has two options:

  • process the voice recognition on his local machine or
  • submit the audio file to a remote server for converting the audio file into a text string.


Free speech recognition engines[edit]

The following is a list of current projects dedicated to implementing speech recognition in Linux, as well as major native solutions:

  • CMU Sphinx is a general term to describe a group of speech recognition systems developed at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Kaldi a toolkit for speech recogntion provided under the Apache licence.

Related projects:

  • Speech[1] uses Google's speech recognition engine to support dictation in many different languages.
  • Speech Control: is a Qt-based application that uses CMU Sphinx's tools like SphinxTrain and PocketSphinx to provide speech recognition utilities like desktop control, dictation and transcribing to the Linux desktop.
  • Platypus[2] is an open source shim that will allow Dragon NaturallySpeaking running under Wine to work with any Linux X11 application.
  • FreeSpeech,[3] from the developer of Platypus, is a free and open source cross-platform desktop application for GTK that uses CMU Sphinx's tools to provide voice dictation, language learning, and editing in the style of Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
  • Vedics[4] is a speech assistant for GNOME Environment
  • Xvoice[5] (requires ViaVoice to function)
  • GnomeVoiceControl[6] is a dialogue system to control the GNOME Desktop that was developed in the Google Summer of Code in 2007.
  • NatI[7] is a multi-language voice control system written in Python
  • CVoiceControl[8] is a KDE and X Window independent version of its predecessor KVoiceControl
  • SphinxKeys[9] lets you essentially type keyboard keys and mouse clicks by speaking into your microphone. It's simple and works pretty much out of the box.
  • Open Mind Speech,[10] a part of the Open Mind Initiative,[11] aims to develop free (GPL) speech recognition tools and applications, as well as collect speech data.
  • PerlBox[12] is a perl based control and speech output.
  • VoxForge is a free speech corpus and acoustic model repository for open source speech recognition engines.
  • Simon[13] aims at being extremely flexible to compensate dialects or even speech impairments. It uses either HTK / Julius or CMU SPHINX, works on Windows and Linux and supports training.
  • Speeral Speeral a group of speech recognition tools developed at University of Avignon

It is possible, though complicated, for advanced developers to create Linux speech recognition software by using existing packages derived from open-source projects.

Proprietary speech recognition engines[edit]

  • LumenVox Speech Engine is a commercial library for Linux and Windows for inclusion in other software. It has been integrated into the Asterisk private branch exchange system.[18]

Voice control and keyboard shortcuts[edit]

Speech recognition usually refers to software that attempts to distinguish thousands of words in a human language. Voice control may refer to software used for sending operational commands to a computer or appliance. Voice control typically requires a much smaller vocabulary and thus is much easier to implement.

Simple software combined with keyboard shortcuts, have the earliest potential for practically accurate voice control in Linux.

Running Windows speech recognition software with Linux[edit]

Using a compatibility layer[edit]

It is possible to use programs such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking in Linux, by utilizing Wine, though some problems may arise, depending on which version is used.[20]

Using virtualized Windows[edit]

It is also possible to use Windows speech recognition software under Linux. Using no-cost virtualization software, it is possible to run Windows and NaturallySpeaking under Linux. VMware Server or VirtualBox support copy and paste to/from a virtual machine, making dictated text easily transferable to/from the virtual machine.

See also[edit]


External links[edit]