That is an interesting article from one of our competitors and pointed out by another competitor. Unfortunately, not all of what they say is accurate.
1.
Voice recording - Inspectors have been doing this for years using small tape recording devices. The only advancement made with this and offered by HomeGauge is the ability to record using your desktop and PocketPC. The problem with recordings is that you have to transcribe the information by listening, stopping and typing - a very slow process.
2.
Voice dictation - Dictation is certainly a realistic approach to documenting your findings. This eliminates the need to listen and type your voice recordings described above. Microsoft, Dragon and other "dictation engines" can all provide very good accuracy. With our software and proper use, you can consistently achieve high 90 percentile. That is 90+ percent that you don't have to type.
3.
Voice commands - The
voice commands they reference are commands tied to keyboard and mouse movement within an application or Windows itself. This is the standard approach taken by voice technology to interface with applications. I agree that this is not practical because you are giving commands related to the user interface or screen layout. During a hands-free inspection you cannot see your computer. Interspect Voice does not use these type of voice commands.
Why is Interspect Voice voice command and hands free inspections practical!
Let's look again at the perceived issue
The visual representation and confirmation of the screen has been replaced by voice responses from the computer. Interspect Voice uses a positive response approach by responding to every voice command given. You either hear the information your requested or receive a confirmation that it performed the action you commanded. There is no waiting - it happens immediately.
What if the agent and buyer want to talk to you while you are inspecting? No problem. Simply mute the microphone or end your voice inspection. Most inspectors find that they get fewer interruptions performing voice inspections because the buyer and realtor don't want to disturb them while they are inspecting with voice. I think that is a benefit. Even if they do interrupt you and then you can't remember what you had done or where you are, you simply ask Interspect Voice and it will tell you right where you left off.
Personalization does not suffer
Buyers and realtors are amazed at how efficient you will be doing a voice inspection. You will be focused on the inspection instead of fumbling around trying to tap your information into a handheld device. Nothing has to change with communication. You can continue to interact with your customer allowing them to listen to you or watch your report being built real-time while you inspect.
Hand Free operation is not slower and does not take longer
Interspect Voice has two different modes - Verbose and Concise. In verbose mode, the computer provides detailed information for every command you give. In concise mode, the responses are one or two words. Even in verbose mode, you can interrupt the computer with a new command and it will stop speaking the current response, execute your new command and respond with the result. The system performs as fast as you can inspect.
Whether you type or dictate it is always a good idea to review your report. Just like other software, efficiency is gained in using pre-defined notes for your issues and comments. Type a one-off issue or dictating still requires more time and needs to be reviewed.
Interspect Voice is not intended to eliminate the need to inspect. Our focus is on making it easier to collect the information and generate the report. Inspectors using our software with and without the hands-free technology have saved hours each day compared to what they used to do. Don't take our word for it, call and we will give you contact information for inspectors using our product.
Talking out loud during and inspection
What is unnatural about talking out loud? You have probably been talking since you were 9 months old. This is how you communicate to your buyer and realtor, why should the computer be any different?
HomeGauge is implying that you should not let your buyer, realtor or seller hear what you are documenting. What is the point of the inspection? Nothing should be a secret. You were hired to inspect the house and document the issues. Regardless of your approach for collecting this information, it needs to be collected, documented and communicated.
Other thoughts
Interspect Voice has functionality to support a complete custom comment library. During voice inspections, these comments are accessed using a voice tag. Memorizing hundreds or thousands of voice tags is unrealistic. With Interspect Voice, you can ask the computer for the comments associated with the item you are inspecting (which can take time especially if the one you want is at the end of the list), filter that list by categories or search for your comment using voice. Inspectors have found that 80% of the time they will use 20% of their comments over and over. These comments are the ones you will memorize quickly. For the other comments not used that often, we recommend generating a Voice Tag report from within Interspect Voice and creating a quick reference booklet of all your comments. This is what almost every inspector doing voice inspections is uses. It is extremely fast to look up all of your comments for an item and find the one you want - just like you would do sitting in front of the computer.
Hands-free distance: We partnered with Plantronics who makes high quality headsets. The headset we use and support with our solution has a distance of 200 ft. This headset works like a wireless telephone you would have at your home. We have not had any problems with distance or obstruction from the structure. The requirement to move your computer during an inspection would rarely occur. Additionally, the headset has audible indicators to let you know you are approaching the maximum distance.
Background noise: The CS50 noise cancelling microphone along with your profile for a noisy environment handles background noise very well. Even if you have someone talking to you, the
voice command mode is only listening for specific words depending on the mode you are in at that time. The chance that it would pick up someone talking and run a command is unlikely. We have demonstrated this during very loud conferences at ASHI and TAREI events.
Summary
Voice Command and hands free during the inspection is efficient when using Interspect Voice. Taking Dragon Natural Speaking or other "speech recognition" solutions and trying to layer them on top of an existing application does not work. Interspect Voice uses speech technology that is integrated directly into the solution based on the way it is needed during an inspection. You are not simply replacing keyboard and mouse events with voice commands.
It is nice that HomeGauge and other software vendors are spending so much time evaluating our software and searching for reasons why you should not use it. The future is here and they are behind.
Interspect Voice is not for everyone just like HomeGauge is not for everyone. We recommend that you try our software to see if it fits your needs. If you would like a personal demonstration, feel free to call and we will schedule a time. I will be happy to address any of the issues HomeGauge discussed so you can see exactly how Interspect Voice works. Interspect Voice will save you time on your inspections. This has been proven in the field with current inspectors - even inspectors that have switched from HomeGauge.
Interspect Voice
