Error Handling in Speech User Interfaces in the Context of Virtual Worlds

While the virtual environments are gaining more success each day there are many usability problems associated with them. The controlling methods, which usually rely heavily on the user’s hands, are one problem. There are situations and user groups in which this is not an acceptable way to use the computer. Here we approach this problem by using speech input. The relatively high error rates are the main problem when speech input is used. This problem is even worse when speech is used in situations where speed is an important factor. This all means that advanced error-handling methods must be applied. We studied different errors that could occur in 3D worlds by constructing a speech-enabled VRML 2.0 browser. In addition to speech recognition errors we investigated errors that were caused by the interaction metaphor used. Based on the informal user tests we introduce some improved error handling methods.