Aural Interfaces to Databases Based on VoiceXML

As part of a general framework for the development of global information systems, we include support for the development of aural interfaces. The framework uses an object-oriented database for the management of application, document content and presentation data. The access layer is based around an XML server and XSLT for document generation from default and customised templates. Specifically, aural interfaces are supported through a VoiceXML server that provides the speech recognition and synthesis mechanisms, together with XSLT templates for the generation of VoiceXML. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a generic voice browser for application databases as well as the development of a customised aural interface for a community diary managing appointments and events.