This project is establishing a lasting collection of tools for converting speech to text and for speech understanding. The collection is based on an extensible C++ speech recognition system, for which both source code and object modules are available. Public access to this system is encouraged in three ways: by a web site, with community-wide design reviews, and with educational materials. The website includes the C++ software, together with a toolkit for evaluation of speech-recognition software and a set of Java applets for educational purposes. The design reviews are similiar to workshops, and cover topics such as software design and algorithm selection for new versions of the publicly available speech system. Finally, educational web sites and tutorials lower the barriers to performing research in speech-to-text systems.
