IIIT working on speech to text mobile technology.

The International Institute of Information technology (IIIT) is working an a mobile technology that would convert speech into language and text and can be then sent as an SMS, reports Times of India. This initiative is basically to assist those who are unable to write and can opt to dictate the message to their phone, said Rajeev Sangal, Director of IIIT.

So, users can simply speak out the message and the technology will convert it into language and text. Reportedly, the project is funded by the Ministry of Information Technology and is expected to be ready in two years. "You can talk to the mobile phone. Suppose, anybody does not know reading or writing, they can dictate the phone the SMS, which they would like to send. They should be able to speak it out and then the phone will convert it into text and send it as a message," Sangal told PTI.

Besides, seven other institutions are also working on this project. This technology could be beneficial for phones with smaller screens and inefficient keyboards. The IIIT speech lab plans to work towards speech systems that will help with speech translation, serve as phonetic engine for Indian languages, speaker recognition for biometrics, and dialog systems in speech mode, revealed a senior person at IIIT. We’ve been trying to get in touch with Prof. Rajeev Sangal, for further updates, so stay tuned.