GFT Group Inc. Seeks Beta Testers for Petrana Presentation Controller: PowerPoint by Voice Command

GFT Group Inc. seeks beta testers for the Petrana Presentation Controller. The Petrana Presentation Controller is a Microsoft Windows software program that enables presenters to control PowerPoint presentations entirely by voice command, to jump to slides in any order as needed, to bring up answers to frequently asked questions immediately without paging through irrelevant slides or fumbling with the slide sorter, to launch external programs and video, and to trigger rhetorical questions asked by the computer for dramatic effect. User defined voice cues enable the presenter to control the presentation without interfering with the flow of the spoken presentation. The Petrana Presentation Controller improves communication by enabling the presenter to adapt the presentation to audience requirements during the presentation and by enabling the presenter to ask questions and interact with the audience.

The Petrana Presentation Controller is a Microsoft Windows program written in Visual Basic that uses Microsoft Speech for speech recognition. The program requires a good quality microphone. The best overall experience is usually achieved by using a good quality Lavalier wireless microphone system, which many audio-video departments possess, and a quiet presentation room. Headset wireless microphone systems provide better accuracy in noisy environments such as trade show floors, but are visible to the audience and less comfortable to wear. Our best results have been using the infrared Lavalier microphone system from Azden Corporation, as this provides excellent audio quality and eliminates the radio interference problems sometimes encountered with the more commonly available radio wireless systems.

Microsoft Speech requires that new users train Microsoft Speech for their voices by reading a training passage that takes about 10 to 15 minutes. Retraining is frequently required in new acoustic environments. The performance of Microsoft Speech improves significantly with use over a period of weeks and months. The software will automatically install Microsoft Speech 5 if Microsoft Speech is not installed.

Beta testers should have some free time to install and experiment with the software. It typically takes 1-3 hours to install and begin using the software, not including time to locate a microphone. The software includes documentation, a sample presentation, and a tutorial video to help walk new users through getting started. Present-day speech recognition takes a little practice to use effectively. For live presentations, it is best to have a small wireless remote control, a “clicker”, in your pocket to advance slides in an emergency. This will ensure any technical difficulties can be hidden from an audience and ensure the presenter is relaxed since a fall back option is readily available. Your presentation will never be worse than a traditional voiceless PowerPoint presentation.

GFT Group seeks feedback on all aspects of the Presentation Controller, including documentation, user interface, speech recognition accuracy, learning curve, and so forth.

A trial version of the software may be downloaded from the Petrana web site: http://www.Petrana.net/

Please send comments to:

John F. McGowan Ph.D.
President, Research and Development Division
GFT Group Inc.
jmcgowan@GFTGroup.com