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Innovation of a Smart Voice Recorder (SVR)
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INNOVATION FEASIBILITY REPORT
Implementations of Smart Voice Recorder (SVR)
ENGL 220: Technical Writing and Communication
Group Members:
Fatma Al Zaabi
Lama Mahmoud
Sara Al Hanaei
Prepared for:
http://elearn.kustar.ac.ae/user/view.php?id=162&course=1
Submitted to
Ms. Sabina Ostrowska
Summer 2011
Innovation of a Smart Voice Recorder (SVR)
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CONTENTS
List of Figures and Tables.................................................................................................................... 3
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 4
1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 5
1.1. Purpose ....................................................................................................................................... 5
1.2. Scope .......................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3. Procedure .................................................................................................................................... 5
1.4. Problem Background .................................................................................................................. 6
2. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................................... 7
2.1. Detailed Description of the Problem ................................................................................................ 7
2.2. Solution ........................................................................................................................................... 8
2.3. Characteristics of the Smart Voice Recorder ................................................................................... 9
2.4. Technical Details and Implementation ........................................................................................... 10
2.4.1. Connections ............................................................................................................................ 11
2.4.2. Software Description .............................................................................................................. 12
2.4.3. Between Alarm and Speaker ................................................................................................... 13
2.4.4. Between Touch Screen and Control System Unit .................................................................... 14
2.5 Cost ................................................................................................................................................ 15
2.6. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Development .................................................................. 16
3. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 17
4. LIST OF REFERENCES............................................................................................................... 18
5. APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................. 20
5.1. APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................... 20
The Online Survey about a new way of improving Voice Recorders. ............................................... 20
5.2. APPENDIX B................................................................................................................................ 21
Charts of the survey .......................................................................................................................... 21
5.3. APPENDIX C................................................................................................................................ 23
PRO-ENGINEER Design of a SVR Sample. .................................................................................... 23
Innovation of a Smart Voice Recorder (SVR)
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List of Figures and Tables
Table 1: Platform Comparison Chart between Various Operating Systems [11]………….…….13
Figure 1: Percentages of students who find difficulties while taking lecture notes .......................7
Figure 2: Difficulties Khalifa University students face while taking lecture notes .......................7
Figure 3: The SVR from a) Top b) Back ....................................................................................8
Figure 4: The SVR from a) front b) back c) side ........................................................................9
Figure 5: USB Cable [1] .......................................................................................................... 10
Figure 6: Battery Charger [2]................................................................................................... 10
Figure 7: Headset [3] ............................................................................................................... 10
Figure 8: The control system unit of the SVR [4] ..................................................................... 10
Figure 9: SVR Fingerprint Scanner [5] .................................................................................... 11
Figure 10: A transistor chip [8] ................................................................................................ 12
Figure 11: A woofer driver inside the speaker [14] ................................................................... 14
Figure 12: Tweeter driver in a speaker [15] .................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 13: A touch screen attached to the SVR [16] ................................................................. 14
Figure 14: A touch screen controller [17] ....................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 15: Expected cost of the SVR by Khalifa University students ........................................ 15
Innovation of a Smart Voice Recorder (SVR)
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Abstract
Saving a huge amount of audible data has become critical in our vastly interconnected society.
Questions such as “Could you please write the minutes of meeting as soon as possible?” or “Are
the latest urgent news typed already in order to be published in the newspaper tomorrow?” are
routinely posed in variety of scenarios. This feasibility report is most useful for people who need
to convert audible notes into written ones such as students and journalists. Moreover, it attempts
to answer the question “Is there any alternative tool to convert the audible sound into typed
document automatically?” by evaluating the feasibility of a new innovation of a smart voice
recorder, by elaborating on its technical description and design, and by suggesting reliable
techniques for further improvements of the innovation. The present report explores the positive
effects of the SVR for its owners such as high performance, low power consumption and user
privacy. Nevertheless, each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, and the user’s choice of
his or her technology depends on the application. The grand challenge is to achieve SVR that is
more robust, cost effective and applicable in further applications.
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. PURPOSE
The purpose of the present report is to discuss the feasibility of a new innovation. Mainly, it will
illustrate a new modified technological device of simple voice recorders and will explain how it
is going to be a powerful innovation for different users. Furthermore, the report will specify all
the technologies that will be required to proceed in developing this device. In addition, it will
provide the user with the needed details concerning how all the technologies will be combined
together. Moreover, it will present to the user technical details of each technology individually
and how it will function to the overall working process of the device.
1.2. SCOPE
This report details the problems faced by different people in taking notes and the benefits gained
by using the Smart Voice Recorder (SVR). To begin with, it will provide the problem
background description in order to clarify the purpose of the innovative idea and its impact on
users. In addition, this report covers the major solutions that fit the purpose of this report
followed by the phases of implementations of the SVR by different users. Moreover, we will
provide the user with the characteristics of SVR as a guide in using. Finally, cost, limitations,
suggestions for further developments, and the conclusion will be discussed.
1.3. PROCEDURE
As a starting point, a survey was conducted in order to support the importance of this device and
examine the probability whether the upcoming product will be favored and accepted by users or
not. Fortunately, it was found that most people accepted the innovative idea and it appealed to
them. Thereafter, the team investigated what technologies can be applied in the device, and that
was from relevant articles from reliable websites. Subsequently, the team started a detailed
research about each of the technologies individually and how could we technically merge them
in order to operate the SVR successfully. Regardless of the complexity of the operating process,
the innovative idea was still feasible and producible.
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1.4. PROBLEM BACKGROUND
Taking notes is an essential task in our daily lives in order to retrieve what we have heard in any
event after a long time. However, many people have difficulties in following up and taking notes
quickly and effectively. Moreover, we face problems in saving our data or sometimes we lose
papers that we have taken notes on. Considering the fact that losing important data might lead us
to serious troubles, a solution is actually needed. From this point, the design of SVR as a solution
to the preceding problems became important. SVR is designed to help people take notes more
effectively, and to save their time and effort.
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2. DISCUSSION
2.1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM
Nowadays, voice recorders are popular programs that exist in every laptop and mobile phone.
Undoubtedly, they have proved useful and efficient since they were invented. For some, voice
recording devices might be considered as the closest friend for some students and journalists. On
the other hand, for others, it might be used for the sake of fun like creating an audio diary.
However, the inconvenience comes when recorded notes need to be written or typed back. Many
people face difficulties with achieving their tasks for several reasons. Moreover, people who
have limited time find this job tedious and annoying.
A survey (see Appendix A) was conducted among Khalifa University students in order to study
whether they face difficulties while taking lecture notes or not. 70% of the students agreed that it
is actually a problem (see Figure 1) and they cannot take lecture notes effectively because of
many reasons illustrated in Figure 2.
As Figure 2 shows, 41% of the students argued that professors speak faster than they could
follow. Furthermore, around 32% of the students believe that they cannot concentrate and write
down notes at the same time. Approximately, 19% of the students have a slow writing process.
Finally, a small portion (8% of the students) face difficulties with different accents of different
professors and thus, they cannot write lecture notes efficiently.
Figure 1: Percentages of
students who find difficulties while taking lecture notes
Figure 2: Difficulties Khalifa University students face while taking lecture notes
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Even though voice recorders proved beneficial to various users during the past few decades, as it
came to make people lives easier, the following questions still stand: How could technology
improve regular voice recorders and make them more efficient? Will voice recorders be able to
convert audible data into written data automatically? The solution is possible and this is what the
report will achieve as it ends.
2.2. SOLUTION
In order to solve the problems discussed above, a digital SVR will be designed to help people
master taking notes during lectures, interviews and conferences (see Figure 3). Primarily, the
SVR aims to save people’s time and effort.
To bring the idea of the innovation more closely, the SVR might be considered as an updated
version of a simple digital voice recorder. Some features are added to it such as newly-installed
software on it, a memory storage that could be connected to a laptop and finally, a fingerprint
scanner in order to maintain user privacy. More details about each feature will be explained in
the Technical Details and Implementation section.
Figure 3: The SVR from a) Top b) Back
a) b)
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2.3. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SMART VOICE RECORDER
The SVR was designed to be user friendly and flexible in using. Basically, it consists of the
following parts: a touch screen, a USB port, two inner rechargeable batteries, a receiver and a
finger print scanner. Advanced electronic methodologies are applied in a way that maximizes the
accuracy percentage and minimizes the power consumption.
Figure 4 summarizes the main design characteristics and the major parts of the SVR innovation.
The device is approximately 10 cm long, 4 cm wide and has a thickness of 0.8 cm which fits
comfortably in user’s hand. A touch screen was provided to see the information recorded as text
and to enable the user to adjust homophones or anything in the text through the keyboard.
Moreover, an On/Off button at the top of the device is made of smooth rubber which is
comfortable in pressing. Furthermore, a button at the bottom of the device to lock it, then the
user will be asked to re-enter his password or scan his finger using the fingerprint scanner. The
fingerprint scanner is at the back of the device as an extra security trait that the device is
provided with. In addition to that, the user can adjust the volume using the volume keys which
are located at the right side. Finally, there is a headset attached to the jack placed at the bottom of
the device. A USB port was provided to transfer the user’s data on the user laptop using USB
wire provided with the product as an accessory tool. Finally, efficient speakers are at the back of
the device to enable the user listen clearly to the recorded speech.
a) b) c)
Figure 4: The SVR from a) front b) back c) side
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Accessories that will be provided with the device once the user buys SVR are: USB cable
(Figure 5), a battery charger (Figure 6) and a headset (Figure 7).
monitorking.com
The USB cable enables the user to connect the SVR with the computer; therefore, the user can
display his work on his computer. Additionally, a 220 V battery charger is the only charger that
can be used to charge the SVR, using any other charger may cause non-operation of the device
and might be dangerous technically. Finally, a cutting edge headset is provided where you can
plug it in the headset jack and the user can enjoy listening to his recorded work.
2.4. TECHNICAL DETAILS AND IMPLEMENTATIONS
The functionality of the SVR would be used in a very simple but technical way. As in any simple
recorder, when the recording option is activated, the device will start recording audible sound
and recorded notes will be saved in its memory. Consequently, in addition to the preceding
procedure, if it was an SVR, it would start typing the recorded notes on the screen instantly as an
electronic document. The typing process will be acquired by the simple software installed in it.
Figure 7: USB Cable [1] Figure 5: Headset [3] Figure 6: Battery Charger [2]
Figure 8: The control system unit of the SVR [4]
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The recorder contains a library of words and their meanings, spellings and their classifications.
As well as, it contains a list of all possible homophones. In case of homophones, the device will
send a signal to the control system unit (Figure 8) in order to activate the ringing alarm and alert
the user. Thus, the user will be able to choose the desired word via the attached touch screen.
Therefore, the confusion of homophones will be handled automatically.
In addition to this, the SVR guarantees the user privacy by the security password feature and the
fingerprint scanner (see Figure 9) attached to it. Thus, the user has the ability to choose the
preferable security option or even both.
2.4.1. CONNECTIONS
As its name indicates, the control system unit controls all the processing operations in this
innovation. Following the advanced technology of microprocessor technology, the control unit
system consists primarily of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MOSFETs).
MOSFET transistors are considered as the building block of today’s integrated circuits (ICs).
According to Robert [6], MOSFET consists of two combined capacitors of a semiconductor
material, each capable of carrying a small amount of current. According to Imam [7], a
semiconductor material is an intermediate stage between a real conductor and an insulator such
as Silicon (Si). It is interesting as it blocks electricity at one voltage and permit electricity to pass
through them at different voltage. The sole reason of utilizing transistors is that they receive
electrical signals and produce the instruction signals.
Figure 9: SVR Fingerprint Scanner [5]
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According to Jams [9], the revolution of MOSFET transistors has culminated in microprocessors
having 100 million transistors, memory chips containing billions of transistors, and sophisticated
communication circuits providing tremendous signal processing capability. Since, a memory
chip needs to be attached to the control system in order to save data; the semiconductor transistor
chip appearing in Figure 10 will acquire this task. Essentially, this semiconductor chip works as
a memory chip as well as it stores data and instructions with high performance and capability [9].
It has a typical capacity of 64 GB in order to enable users to save a huge amount of recordings.
2.4.2. SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION
Newly-installed and user-friendly software called SVR is installed in this innovation. It enables
the user to convert Windows Audio Wave (WAV) file into text offline. Consequently, the SVR
user might then be able to edit the converted document using a specific editor which plays back
the recorded sound slowly for editing purposes. In addition to that, the text can be searched,
saved, easily cut, copied, and pasted into any application. It also contains an option for the high
speed speeches [10].
Undoubtedly, the SVR software needs an operating system in order to run. In fact, the desired
operating system is responsible for everything from the control and allocation of memory to
recognizing input signals and transmitting output ones to the screen. Hughes, in his article
“Operating Systems Comparison” [11], compared between various operating systems that are
commonly used in the business community. According to Hughes [11], most businesses today
are running a mix of computer operating systems to get all their different tasks done. However,
the selection of a specific operating system should be based on the interoperability, support for
different hardware platforms and maintainability. Table 1 offers a quick feature comparison
between different operating systems.
Figure 10: A transistor chip [8]
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It's easy to see when you look at all the features in the various operating systems that UNIX is
the most remarkable and suitable operating system for this innovation. What makes UNIX
different from any other operating system is its excellent connectivity, excellent stability, and
greater built in security and permissions features than the other operating systems. According to
[12], UNIX offers an efficient level of virtual memory which enables the user to run multiple
programs using only a modest level of physical memory. In addition to that, it is well optimized
for program development, and thus for the unusual circumstances that are the rule in research.
Hence, the choice of UNIX as an operating system of the SVR would be satisfactory.
2.4.3. BETWEEN ALARM AND SPEAKER
This section elaborates on how the alarm and the speaker interact. In case of homophones, the
alarm rings in order to alert the user to choose the desired word out of a list of suggested words
and viewed via a touch screen. The alarm sends a signal to the speaker which is a device that
converts electric signals to audible sound. The speaker consists of two drivers basical ly a woofer
(Figure 11) and a tweeter (Figure 12). The woofer is a low-pass filter that produces low
frequencies, typically from around 45 Hz up to about a 1.5 kHz, while the tweeter is high-pass
Table 1: Platform Comparison Chart between Various Operating Systems [11]
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filter that produces high frequencies ranging from around 2,000 Hz till 20,000 Hz. Combining
the woofer and tweeter together will allow a range of middle frequencies [13].
2.4.4. BETWEEN TOUCH SCREEN AND CONTROL SYSTEM UNIT
As mentioned earlier, the control system unit controls all the electrical devices inside the SVR.
This section explains how the touch screen works. It is well known that s touch screen is an input
device used to interact between user input and response (Figure 13). Most of touch screen
technologies use sensors and circuits to monitor changes in a particular state. An electric current
goes through sensors when you touch the screen causing a voltage change. A controller (Figure
14) takes information from the touch sensor and translates it into information that control system
unit can understand [13]. The software tells the recorder's control system unit how to interpret
the touch event information that is sent from the controller.
Figure 12: A woofer driver inside the
speaker [14]
Figure 11: Tweeter driver in a speaker [15]
Figure 13: A touch screen attached to the SVR
[16]
Figure 14: A touch screen controller [17]
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2.5 COST
In real life you can rarely find a product with high efficiency and low prices, simply, we always
pay more for higher quality. Therefore, to put a price for such an efficient device we had to
compare the prices of ordinary voice recorders prices. According to [18], the prices
approximately were between $52.13 and $760. These prices are not low and not expensive at the
same time. For our product, to set a convenient price for our effort, components prices and our
customers’ satisfaction, we asked Khalifa University students in our survey about the expected
price for such a device. Figure 15 shows the results of the expected prices of the SVR.
Our goal is to have an inexpensive product with higher efficiency and affordable by the
customers. A high quality Sony Voice Recorder has an average cost of $174.96 [18] which is
convenient. Considering the fact that SVR has the ability to change voice-to-text using the
converter program under a controlling system, a flexible touch screen and an internal memory of
64 GB, we have approximated a price of $450 as conducted from the survey. Moreover, putting
in mind the UNIX operating system price, which is 5000$ (see Table 1) doesn’t affect the
approximated price. Since, we only purchase the genuine version once and install it in all our
manufactured SVR devices. Fortunately, as we see innovations improve day by day, this might
lead to a slight decrease in our products.
Figure 15: Expected cost of the SVR by Khalifa University students
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2.6. LIMITATIONS & SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses and the user’s choice of technology depends
on his or her application. This is actually true for this innovation. One limitation of the SVR is
that it might not be helpful in the Mathematics and Physics lectures. The reason is that the SVR
does not have the ability to record even simple equations yet.
Practically, the SVR can be improved by adding an extra application which is a digital camera.
Therefore, the SVR will be able to transfer heard and seen perspectives which are solely suitable
in some applications. Such applications include Mathematics classes, Physics classes and
journalists’ missions in transferring latest news. Hopefully, this report is the starting point for
further research and advancements of the voice recorders.
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3. CONCLUSION
To sum up, the final version of the SVR met all the design criteria exactly as planned. The ease
of use, high accuracy percentage and suitability in various situations justify the use of this highly
efficient audio-to-text converting system. This report highlighted how this innovation can help
making people’s lives much easier and assists them with their regular duties especially when
they have a limited time interval. In other words, SVR is useful for various applications such as
recording lecture notes, interviews, and conferences. On the other hand, this innovation will aid
people with special needs to be more productive and creative in their societies. Thus, the
innovation is feasible according to what is previously mentioned.
No technology is fully perfect and thus neither is the SVR. However, the more feedback
customers give about any product, the more features could technicians add in order to improve
its quality. The future hope is to develop our society by saving people’s time and effort which
can be used for more substantial enterprises; at the movement the technology fails to do so.
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4. LIST OF REFERENCES
[1] Monitor King MK Computer Inc Website (2010). Cables [Online]. Available:
http://monitorking.com/index
[2] Call Box Store (2011). Mobile phone Charger [Online]. Available:
http://www.callboxpcrepair.com/store/index.php?cPath=21&sid=3h9c933a5b08f0oi16ghekrt03
[3] Alibaba.com (2011). Cell Phone Headset [Online]. Available:
http://www.alibaba.com/productgs/404668452/Cell_Phone_Headset_for_BlackBerry_9800.html
[4] Spectra.com (n.d.). Product [Online]. Available:
http://www.spectrah.com/product/touch_screen_controller_thc_series/thc_series.htm
[5] B. Rankin. (n.d). Laptop Security [Online]. Ask Bob Rankin. Available:
http://askbobrankin.com/laptop_security.html
[6] D. Robert. (2009). Mosfet Transistors in IC circuits. IEEE Spectrum. IEEE Xplorer.
Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumebr=01484036
[7] M. Imam. (2007). Semiconductor Material [Online]. SiliconFarEast.com . Available:
http://www.siliconfareast.com/whatissemicon.htm
[8] M. Hashimoto (2005). A 3-Axis Silicon Piezoresistive Accelerometer [Online]. Sensors.
Available: http://archives.sensorsmag.com/articles/0299/0299_38/index.htm
[9] T. Jams. (n.d.). How Microelectronics work? [Online]. How Stuff Works. Available:
howstuffworks.com: http://www.howstuffworks.com/microprocessor.htm
[10] Wavetotext.com (n.d.) [Online]. www.wavetotext.com
[11] P. Hughes (2010). Operating Systems Comparison [Online]. Netshooter.com. Available:
http://www.netshooter.com/linux/oscomp.html
[12] Stanford Unversity (2004). Advantages and disadvantages of Unix [Online]. Available:
http://pangea.stanford.edu/computing/unix/overview/advantages.php
[13] O. Antia. (2010). How does a speaker work? [Online]. WikiAnswers.com. Available:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_a_speaker_work
[14] M. McKeever , S. Jason. (1999). A Texas Attorney's Guide to Information Technology
[Online]. TexasLawyers.com. Available: http://www.texaslawyers.com/coomer/barspeech.htm
[15] Answers.com (2010). Loudspeaker [Online]. Available:
http://www.answers.com/topic/loudspeaker
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[16] Microcontrollers.com (2004). How Touch-Screen works [Online]. Available:
http://microcontroller-project-codes.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-touch-screen-works.html
[17] Embeded System News (2008). IDT Announces [Online]. Available:
http://embeddedsystemnews.com/idt-announces-9-mbit-70p3519-and-4-mbit-70p3599-dual-port-
for-industrial-control-medical-imaging-and-communications.html
[18] C. Mardini. (2002). Shopping for Electronics [Online]. Shopbot.com. Available:
http://www.shopbot.com.au/voice-recorders/portable-players/australia/3
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5. APPENDICES
5.1. APPENDIX A
The Online Survey about a new way of improving Voice Recorders.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M7MB6M7
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5.2. APPENDIX B
Charts of the survey
Survey Results.
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5.3. APPENDIX C
PRO-ENGINEER Design of a SVR Sample.
