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Spoken Language Processing Group (TLP)

The MASK consortium

The MASK project is partially financed by the European Commission (Esprit DG III Industry)

The MASK demonstrator

Speech technologies integrated with advanced multimedia services for train passengers.

The Mask demonstrator is presently used for field trials at the St-Lazare station in Paris. Overall system performance is assessed by a questionnaire regarding the ease-of-use, reliability, and user satisfaction of the Mask system.

[Larger picture of the MASK kiosk, design by SNCF]

The aim of the MASK project

The objective is to design, develop and evaluate a demonstrator of information and sales kiosk implementing an innovative user interface. MASK enables train passengers the use of a multimodal input (speech and touch) and multimedia output (sound, video, text and graphics). Compared to on-site existing systems, the main objectives are to reduce the time taken to complete a transaction, to increase the number of successful transactions and to enlarge the population of potential users. Iterative evaluations are carried throughout the development process so as to improve the system and achieve a dialogue as convial and natural as possible.
[Larger picture, design by Digital Studio SA]

Data sheet of the MASK demonstrator

Principle:
The principle behind the Multimodal-Multimedia Automated Service Kiosk is based on the possible combination of speech understanding, touch screen, multimedia animations, video and audio. The aim is to come as close as possible to natural dialogue.
[Larger picture, design by Digital Studio SA]

Characteristics:

  • data acquisition via a touch screen
  • real-time continuous speech recognition
  • speaker independent
  • spontaneous speech with over 1500 words
  • vocal response
    For demonstration purposes all information is stored locally to eliminate legal issues involved with external connections.
    [Larger picture, design by Digital Studio SA]

    Services:

  • Timetables of the intercity trains
  • Description of SNCF commercial offers
  • Fares
  • Simulated ticket delivery
  • Simulated credit card payment
    [Larger picture, design by Digital Studio SA]

    Dialog example:
    MASK : Le systeme MASK vous écoute / The MASK system is listening
    USER : Euh... je voudrais aller demain de Paris à Bordeaux... / Uhm... I'd like to go from Paris to Bordeaux tomorrow...
    MASK : A quelle heure voulez-vous partir? / What time do you want to leave?
    USER : Vers 12:30 / Around 12:30
    MASK : Il y a un train a 12:43, voulez-vous réserver? / There is a train at 12:43, do you want to make a reservation?
    USER : Oui en première classe / Yes in first class

    Contacts

    Pierre Charron
    MORS
    2/6 avenue Galliéni
    F-94257 GENTILLY
    Tel : +33 (0) 1 49 69 13 72
    Fax : +33 (0) 1 49 69 16 61

    Jean-Noël Temem
    SNCF
    Direction de la Recherche
    45, rue de Londres
    F - 75379 PARIS cedex 08
    Tel : +33 (0) 1 53 42 92 53
    Fax : +33 (0) 1 53 42 93 14
    Email : jean-noel.temem@sncf.fr

    Jean-Luc Gauvain
    LIMSI-CNRS
    BP 133
    F-94403 ORSAY cedex
    Tel : +33 (0) 1 69 85 80 63
    Fax : +33 (0) 1 69 85 80 88
    Email : gauvain@limsi.fr

    John LONG
    UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
    Ergonomics Unit
    26, Bedford Way
    LONDON WC1H 0AP, UK
    Tel : +44 (0) 171 380 7557
    Fax : +44 (0) 171 580 1100
    Email : j.long@ucl.ac.uk

  • The ESPRIT MASK project
  • Development of Spoken Language Corpora for Travel Information
  • The MASK Spoken Language System
  • Recent publications on MASK
  • The Mask data collection kiosk picture (119Kb)
    Activities - Themes - Projects - Publications

    Last modified: Sunday,11-December-05 06:13:34 CET