New Opportunity: -- Voice-Activated Typewriter A Dream For Handicapped

NEWTON, Mass. - A new voice-activated ``typewriter'' is a science-fiction dream-turned-reality that promises to boost productivity and open a world of opportunity for the disabled.

The DragonDictate Voice-Typewriter, which was being formally unveiled today by Dragon Systems Inc., is billed as the first of its kind in the world.

``My only regret is that your product didn't come out 20 years ago,'' Frank Whitney, a quadriplegic Maryland computer scientist, told the company in a letter written on the system. Whitney has used the system for the past year.

The ``typewriter,'' which consists of software and a speech-recognition circuit board for personal computers, allows users to create memos, manuscripts and other documents by speaking instead of typing. Users speak into a microphone and see text appear on a video screen at the rate of 35 words a minute.

The system can recognize 30,000 words and adapt itself to individual speakers. Until now, voice-activated systems had not been able to recognize more than 5,000 words.

The $9,000 pricetag does not include the computer necessary to use the DragonDictate.

The commands are simple. To turn off the system, one says, ``Voice Console: Go to Sleep.'' To turn it on, the command is ``Voice Console: Wake Up.''

A mistake is corrected by saying ``oops'' and repeating the correct word. Many functions can be operated manually as well.

``The technology can address all segments of the workplace,'' says Janet Baker, who founded the company with her husband, James, in 1982 after stints in speech-recognition product development at IBM Corp. and Exxon Corp.

The system is designed for professionals who don't type well or who want to write reports and letters that otherwise would be

dictated to a secretary, then transcribed.

``The only people who are really good typists are journalists, computer programmers and secretaries,'' said Baker. ``Doctors, lawyers and a lot of other people often just hunt and peck or they rely on handing notes to someone to type up.''

DragonDictate is also seen as a great boon to the disabled. Whitney and others with disabilities have used the system in test marketing around the country for the past year.

Laura Harris, a 19-year-old sophomore at Harvard University, was born without fingers on her left hand. She taught herself to type with her right hand, but did so much typing as a freshman government major that she injured her hand. She was forced to dictate her papers into a tape recorder and give it to another student to transcribe.

Since January, Harris has used DragonDictate.

``It was so hard to dictate before because I couldn't actually see what I was writing, so I couldn't edit. I often ended up trying to write longhand and that was painful,'' said Harris. ``DragonDictate is just amazing. It allows me to go back to typing and editing my work.''

The system adjusts to each user's voice because individual voices and accents can vary widely. The maker says it can be programmed to translate English into foreign languages.

DragonDictate is now compatible with an IBM personal computer with a 386 microprocessor, but the manufacturer says it can be programmed to operate with other computers.