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Urging All Danes to Donate Their Voices to Speech Recognition Technology to Help People With Disabil
Added: (Thu May 15 2008)
Dansk Handicap Forbund and SDI Media Group Join Forces for the Development of Speech Recognition Technology in DANISH
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LOS ANGELES, California - May 15, 2008- The Dansk Handicap Forbund, today joins forces with SDI Media Group, the world’s leading multimedia localization company, to bring speech recognition technology in Danish to a whole new level. This collaboration will present Danes with an innovative way to participate in this socially relevant technological advancement.
Rewarded cooperation
Over 2000 male and female voice samples are necessary to adapt this technology to the Danish language and all of its dialects. The collection of voice data recordings is done over the phone and people interested in participating can sign up at www.tagordet.com. If eligible, each participant will be asked to place two calls to one of the provided toll free numbers. Participants who successfully complete the two calls will be awarded 200KR which they can choose to donate to the Dansk Handicap Forbund, one of the most proactive and respected non-profit organizations in the country.
“We are hoping for as many people as possible to participate as we really need their support. People with disabilities play an important role in the global and local development of our societies, but without this technology our options are very limited,” said Stig Langvad, Formand at Dansk Handicap Forbund. “Speech recognition technology will be my hands, my legs, my autonomy in this world.”
Speech recognition technology converts spoken words into computer commands. “This exciting technology with applications in a wide range of fields, from job training to health care, will be pivotal in the lives of people with certain disabilities as it empowers users to interact with computer systems by voice alone,” said Brad Crystal, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Corporate Multimedia for SDI Media Group.
“We are facing a big challenge as we only have one month to produce the 2000 voice samples, but Danes are very engaged with their community and I am confident that by the end of May we will have met our goal,” said Crystal. “By becoming an active participant in the development of this technology, you will be doing something that not only benefits you as an individual, but also has a positive impact on society.”
Susanne Olsen, Chairwoman, Dansk Handicap Forbund, said: “For many years, considerable effort has been made to develop this technology for English-language use. However, development for the Danish language has not been as extensive. This project will play a significant part in addressing that imbalance, with the goal of enabling Danish users to experience new ways of interacting with technology.”
For more information about this project, visit the website at www.tagordet.com
Notes to Editors
About Dansk Handicap Forbund
The Danish NGO-Umbrella: Disabled Peoples Organisations Denmark (DPOD) was founded in 1934 (as "De Samvirkende Invalideorganisationer" - DSI) and has 32 national member organisations representing more than 320.000 people with disabilities in Denmark. DPOD is the only Danish umbrella organisation in the disability field.
The principal objective of DPOD is to take care of the common interests of the member organisations. Characteristic common tasks are negotiations with the national government on issues like pensions and social benefits, medicine, health care, technical aids, and other general questions of importance to all disability groups - such as education, labour market questions, and insurance.
For more information about Dansk Handicap Forbund, visit the website at www.dhf-net.dk
About SDI Media Group
SDI Media Group is headquartered in Los Angeles and counts the world’s leading media and entertainment companies among its extensive client list. SDI is the only company of its kind with subtitling and dubbing operations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, operating in 29 countries worldwide including regional hubs in London, Copenhagen, Mexico City, and Hong Kong. SDI Media translates movies, TV shows, interactive games, and other multimedia content in more than 60 languages.
For more information about SDI Media Group, visit the website at www.sdimediagroup.com
This material is for informational purposes only. The companies mentioned herein disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to use of the material for other purposes. Dansk Handicap Forbund and SDI Media Group shall not, at any time, be liable for any special, direct, indirect or consequential damages, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other action arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of the material. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting any kind of warranty.
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Press Contacts:
Susanne Olsen
Chairman
Dansk Handicap Forbund
+45. 3929.3555
Susanne@dhf-net.dk
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ErinRose Widner
Executive Director, Corp. Multimedia
SDI Media Group
+1.310.388.8821
ewidner@sdimediagroup.com