Projects
CORPORATE AND PUBLIC ACCESS
Since ongoing applied research has demonstrated the viability of using the Liberated Learning approach in university settings, the consortium has initiated a number of initiatives to introduce enhanced accessibility into other environments. These projects, corporate and public, have achieved success and are examples of the versatility of the Liberated Learning concept.
RBC Commercial Exploration: Phase I
In 2004, RBC, SMU, and IBM successfully completed a Phase I, proof of concept investigation of various applications of speech recognition within RBC Financial Group. The project focused on how speech recognition and the Liberated Learning concept could potentially improve information accessibility within RBC. RBC’s project team included employees from RBC Learning, RBC Applied Innovations and Research, and RBC IT.
During the project, IBM ViaScribe was implemented to caption and transcribe a classroom session during a "Principles of Personal Credit Lending Workshop". The project team also showcased the concept during a keynote presentation at eBusiness's 7th Annual Applied Innovation Symposium, and analysed how ViaScribe could be successfully integrated with various RBC communication platforms. Additionally, RBC became the world’s first organization to use speech recognition to real-time caption its Annual Meeting of Common Shareholders, which was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in February 2005.
RBC Commercial Exploration: Phase II
Beginning in 2006, RBC, SMU, and IBM began a pilot study focusing on meeting transcription applications within RBC’s Applied Innovation group. A project team developed and implement two customized systems that simultaneously transcribes multiple speakers in a meeting (or interactive) environment and facilitates information retrieval and unstructured data analysis.
The first system, developed by the University of Southampton, utilizes a server based approach, where multiple speakers each used their own computer running a client/server ViaScribe set up. This “RealTimeMerge” method would be able to accommodate dispersed participants who were “meeting” remotely.
The other implementation model, developed by Saint Mary's University, uses a single computer running multiple instances of ViaScribe. Using USB microphones connected via a USB external hub, the Multi-Speaker ViaScribe application collates the text output from multiple instances of ViaScribe into a single display and synchronizes the text and audio output into a standardized format that facilitated basic search and editing functionality.
During this project, the Multi-Speaker systems will be tested in a series of meetings involving members of RBC Applied Innovation. The project team will be studying:
- Basic Accuracy for each meeting session
- Training Dependence - the relationship between the amount of training required and various levels of accuracy
- Multi Speaker Usability - ease of setting up the application, creation and management of multiple voice profiles, usability of collated display.
- Efficiency of Information Retrieval - how the SR generated meeting transcripts facilitate search and retrieval of information
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