Opportunities for Advanced Speech Processing in Military Computer-Based Systems*

Opportunities for Advanced Speech Processing in Military Computer-Based Systems* Clifford J. Weinstein Lincoln Laboratory, MIT Lexington, MA 02173-9108 Abstract This paper presents a study of military applications of advanced speech processing technology which includes three major elements: (1) review and assessment of cur- rent efforts in military applications of speech technol- ogy; (2) identification of opportunities for future mili- tary applications of advanced speech technology; and (3) identification of problem areas where research in speech processing is needed to meet application requirements, and of current research thrusts which appear promising. The relationship of this study to previous assessments of military applications of speech technology is discussed, and substantial recent progress is noted. Current efforts in military applications of speech technology which are highlighted include: (1) narrowband (2400 b/s) and very low-rate (50-1200 b/s) secure voice communication; (2) voice/data integration in computer networks; (3) speech recognition in fighter aircraft, military helicopters, bat- tle management, and air traffic control training systems; and (4) noise and interference removal for human listen- ers. Opportunities for advanced applications are identi- fied by means of descriptions of several generic systems which would be possible with advances in speech tech- nology and in system integration. These generic systems include: (1) integrated multi-rate voice/data commu- nications terminal; (2) interactive speech enhancement system; (3) voice-controlled pilot's associate system; (4) advanced air traffic control training systems; (5) battle management command and control support system with spoken natural language interface; and (6) spoken lan- guage translation system. In identifying problem areas and research efforts to meet application requirements, it is observed that some of the most promising research involves the integration of speech algorithm techniques including speech coding, speech recognition, and speaker recognition. 1 Introduction and Summary This paper is the result of a study of military appli- cations of advanced speech processing technology which has been undertaken with the following goals: (1) to *This work was sponsored by the Department of the Air Force and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. review and assess a representative sampling of current efforts in military applications of advanced speech pro- cessing technology; (2) to identify opportunities for new military applications, or further development of current applications; and (3) to identify areas where improve- ments to speech processing technology are needed to address military problems. The intention is to outline a fairly broad range of applications, opportunities and speech technology areas; however, the coverage is not intended to be fully comprehensive, nor to be very de- tailed in any particular area. Numerous references are provided, on other survey articles, on specific applica- tions and technologies, and on pertinent research efforts. An historical point of reference for this paper is the 1977 paper by Beek, Neuburg, and Hodge [10], which assessed speech recognition and speech processing tech- nology for military applications. A great deal has been accomplished since 1977 both in speech technology and in applications, but the generic application areas iden- tified in that earlier paper generally remain as relevant now as they were …

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