IBM Introduces ViaVoice Speech Recognition Technology for Mandarin Chinese, involving 6,700 Characters

In 1997 IBM introduced ViaVoice continuous speech recognition technology for Mandarin Chinese. In developing the product, researchers identified and classified thousand of vocal tones and homonyms, created an algorithm that deconstructed syllables into parts, and developed a new language model to transform spoken words into the right combination drawn from 6,700 Chinese characters.

IBM also announced ViaVoice Gold, software that gave people a hands-free way to dictate text and navigate the desktop with the power of natural speech.