Sputnik- 01:54 PM- Lunis Orcutt- 04:15 PM- Sputnik- 06:20 PM- monkey8- 07:39 AM- Chucker- 08:31 AM- monkey8- 09:05 AM- Sputnik- 11:34 AM- Lunis Orcutt- 12:09 PM- monkey8- 01:02 PM- Sputnik- 01:05 PM- monkey8- 02:28 PM- R. Wilke- 02:41 PM- monkey8- 02:43 PM- monkey8- 03:46 PM- Sputnik- 10:51 AM- Sputnik- 11:49 PM- monkey8- 12:33 PMKeyword. I would like to develop my own custom software based on the Dragon engine.Hopefully I have saved up enough money to buy the SDK. But I cannot find any prices, only a form to fill in that seems to assume I am representing some company.How much does it cost to get a personal/student license that I can use on my own computer? Is this even an option? Do I have to be a company?
What is it going to cost to get the most basic package?There is some sort of API documentation available with the product, but I don't think this is really enough to go from; for me anyway. I'm not so smart.Is there some network of developers? I cannot find any resources on the Internet. It looks like quite a solitary pastime. Anyone in London?Thanks,Sput.
There's a couple of things you might want now before taking the SDK plunge:1. We believe the price is around the $5000 US mark but includes Nuance SDK developer assistance (someone will actually answer the phone and your questions).2. Only Nuance can answer the documentation issue but keep in mind that if you go to all the work of speech enabling an application, you will be required to additionally minimally purchase a runtime of DNS Pro. Nuance does not offer SDK for DNS Standard or Preferred so you would need a fairly large project to justify the cost and labor; not to mention having to include the cost of a runtime of DNS Pro (which isn't cheap).3. We know of no network of developers in the UK or the US and we doubt there are very many SDK developers because of the associated costs. We could be way off base but we suspect there are no more than 100 NaturallySpeaking SDK programmers worldwide. However, that's a completely unqualified estimate.The only way to obtain a qualified answer for this question would be to call Nuance directly.-(615) 884-4558 x2(PDF)(30 Day Trial)(15 Day Trial).
Thank you for the reply, Lunis. I really appreciate that you guys put in the time.I have contacted Nuance, and they haven't bothered to reply to me.Surely there must be some API documentation somewhere? I have spent hours trawling through the Internet and pestering people. There is some very basic API documentation that resides in my C:Program FilesNuanceNaturallySpeaking10Help folder, but it is not enough to do anything with; it looks very incomplete, and it appears to be automatically generated from source code comments.I'm desperately trying to get some dragon customisation; I'm pretty sure I don't have enough money to pay a dragon developer.
I can code, and I might just about have enough money to buy the SDK, but Nuance don't seem too fussed about selling it to me. Can anyone throw me a line?Sput. The SDK software components are available (more or less) with any of the upper end versions of DNS (Professional, Legal, Medical).
They are basically in the form of ActiveX/COM components held in various DLL files that are included with the professional versions of DNS. They operate in the same way as any other ActiveX/COM components. (That are objects with associated methods, properties, events etc that conform to Microsoft COM architecture).So you are probably asking what is the SDK that you pay $5000 for? Well basically it's just some documentation and some programming examples as well as a runtime environment for DNS. It doesn't include any additional software that allows you to use the ActiveX components as this is all available anyway with the professional versions of DNS. The bulk of the $5000 is to pay for a support contract.I was in the same position as you a year ago as I wanted to do a project using the SDK to complete my honours degree here in the UK. You used to be able to buy the SDK without the support contract and then it was only slightly more expensive than one of the professional versions, however here in the UK now you have to pay something like £5000 which for me was a bit over the top to complete a project (especially when it only really give me some documentation and examples).
Anyway I just did lots of digging and annoying people as much as I could, started looking at the DLL files etc etc and ended up doing some Visual C and Visual Basic applications using some SDK components. I have put some links below of some of the posts on this forum and there are numerous examples scattered about of advanced scripts that use the Dragon objects (although people don't tend to link these directly with the SDK but they basically the same objects).As Lunis has already said one of the drawbacks with the licensing of the SDK is that you can only use any voice enabled application you produce on a target machine that is running one of the professional versions of DNS. Many people say how ridiculously expensive it is but quite frankly Nuance are perfectly entitled to make money from it and considering they are given us all the objects to play with (although most people don' know it) free of charge it's not a bad deal.The examples on the links I have posted show only a very limited use of some of the objects (DgnEngineControl, DgnVoiceCmnd etc), the application I am completing now for uni is a bit more involved. There are no courses available here in the UK (and I don't think in the US although someone may correct me) so you would have to decide for yourself if you needed the support at this stage or you might like to do more of digging and see how far you get. This is an open-ended question (as I am sure you appreciate) that goes on forever so you have to do the work yourself and I certainly wouldn't recommend a career in development of voice enabled applications without the proper support from Nuance (but there is no harm in digging and seeing how far you can get without it:-)Lindsay AdamJust to make clear these have all been produced without the £5000 SDK, it doesn't break any licensing laws because I am not distributing the components about using the components already installed on the target machine. They have no real functionality as yet other than demonstrating use of the SDK objects.
So you are probably asking what is the SDK that you pay $5000 for? Well basically it's just some documentation and some programming examples as well as a runtime environment for DNS. It doesn't include any additional software that allows you to use the ActiveX components as this is all available anyway with the professional versions of DNS. The bulk of the $5000 is to pay for a support contract.Lindsay,What you are saying here is not quite correct. While the bulk of the SDK cost contains a considerable amount for 'Support', you are incorrect in terms of the statement that it doesn't include any additional software that allows you to use ActiveX components. The SDK includes a 'runtime' license and runtime module.
The runtime is all of the ActiveX components and the recognizer. The only difference between the runtime module and a full version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking is that: (1) it is a Professional runtime, and (2) it contains all of DNS less the user interface. This allows the developer to create their own application and speech enable it using their own design for a user interface. Everything else is contained in the runtime. However, the biggest problem with the SDK is that you only get one runtime module.
If you want to distribute and/or sell your application, then you must purchase additional runtime licensing. This is where it gets really expensive because the minimum runtime licensing contract is, I still believe it is, 50 run-time licenses at a cost of approximately $25,000. It may be more now depending upon which runtimes you wish to purchase. For example, the Professional runtime licensing is probably one third of the Medical runtime licensing cost. Therefore, 50 run-time licenses for Medical would probably run you anywhere between $50,000 and $75,000. This is a minimum purchase cost.Nevertheless, what the SDK provides you is the runtime environment without the GUI.
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Everything that you would need to develop a third-party application and speech enable it is available for the runtime module. So, it isn't quite correct to say that you're getting nothing other than samples and help/support. The SDK, which when I was responsible for developing it, was called the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Developer Suite, the cost of which was dependent upon whether or not you were purchasing for Professional, Legal, or Medical, or all three. Currently, you have two flavors of the SDK. The Client version which is the standard SDK without any bells and whistles, and the Server version, which allows you a certain degree of networking support and the Audio Mining module. The Server version also has a couple of other bells and whistles.Unless you are going to do some serious development, marketing, and sales of a product, you are correct in that all you really need is one of the Professional versions. However, if you are going to do independent development, marketing, and sales of up speech-enabled product using the SDK, then the SDK is of value.
Basically, it is a development and marketing tool. It is not for those who are simply looking to speech enable their own applications because you can do that through any one of the Professional versions anyway.Chuck RunquistOwner, GEMCCON - The Choice of IntelligenceSpeech Recognition Consulting and TrainingIf you hear the sound of hoofbeats, think horses not zebras.variation on Occam's Razor (Law of Parsimony)-VoiceComputer: the only global speech interface.The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect those of VoiceTeach LLC.Chuck RunquistVoiceComputer technical support. Unless you are going to do some serious development, marketing, and sales of a product, you are correct in that all you really need is one of the Professional versions.
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However, if you are going to do independent development, marketing, and sales of up speech-enabled product using the SDK, then the SDK is of value. Basically, it is a development and marketing tool. It is not for those who are simply looking to speech enable their own applications because you can do that through any one of the Professional versions anyway.ChuckGlad you have contributed to this and expanded/corrected me on the runtime functionality/licensing etc. However, as you seem to agree and I have tried to demonstrate, it is quite possible to produce your own voice enabled applications without the SDK. Therefore my suggestion to Sputnik would be rather than splashing out £5000 on the SDK kit for the moment (with all the licensing restrictions you and Lunis have mentioned) try and find out more about it and try using it. He/she is obviously trying to do that and hopefully his post and our replies will help a lot. I wish I had some responses like this when I first started looking into the SDK:-)The road ahead is littered with potholes and it is a lot of money to spend to then find out the legal restrictions or technical difficulties after you have spent it.
Therefore my suggestion was simply to try something like I have done before taking the plunge.LindsayEdit: Just another thing to make clear, the ActiveX components are included with the runtime as Chuck mentions, however they are also included with any of the professional versions of DNS. Therefore if you are distributing an application that is only using the ActiveX components on the target machine from an existing installation of DNS Medical, DNS Legal or DNS Pro then you are not distributing a runtime & ActiveX comps but using an existing runtime and you don't need a license for that. One such application would be SayWhatPro.An example where you would need to distribute the components and therefore would need a licence is where your application is being installed on a target machine that doesn't already have one of the DNS professional versions already installed. In other words the runtime module is simply DNS without the user interface (as Chuck has said) however you can produce all sorts of applications by using an existing top end DNS installation as the runtime and therefore you don't need a runtime license. Please correct me if I am wrong.Lindsay. Thank you very much everyone for the continued knowledge.
This is a very vital little watering-hole for speech recognition enthusiasts.please could someone clarify: what is so special about the professional edition? How come it is possible to make a speech app with the professional edition, but not the preferred edition?I have the preferred edition. I have been thinking that the only thing I am lacking is documentation -the engine is residing in the DLLs. Is this incorrect? In theory if I had the knowledge and skill, could I not latch a new front-end onto the engine just by playing with the DLLs?
Why is the professional edition necessary? Or is it a legal thing?there is some talk of a runtime, it sounds like this is a core engine, below the GUI level.This is the sort of interaction I am looking for with Dragon:- The core receives a continuous microphone input - We can tell the core to (un)load a particular vocabulary, or maybe multiple vocabularies together. Eg ' general dictionary', ' alphabet spelling numbers symbols etc', ' universal commands & commands for editing text such as 'select that', ' commands specific to a particular window'- the core triggers a callback once it thinks it has recognised a phrase,- It is possible to send a chunk of that phrase back and get possible alternative variations on it together with associated probabilities- Maybe the phrase contains some error. So maybe the user corrects it. Then it should be possible to return to corrected version of the phrase to the core, so it can learn from the mistake.This is all I really want. I think this is basically a SAPI interface.I would be interested to see some sort of flow diagram that details the internal structure of the Dragon engine.please, if anyone can send me some.any.
source code, diagrams, tutorials, coffee, these would be so gratefully received. I can't afford $5000, I am a computer enthusiast with RSI.sunfish7attgmaildottcomPS Why is this knowledge all so hidden away and secretive?
It is so frustrating. Dragon do not seem to want people to use their technology. Why are they not opening their doors and throwing it to the wind like confetti? How can they lose? If 1 million people have the capacity to develop Dragon applications, how can Dragon lose?
Surely the more people using Dragon related products to better, as in the heart of each must lie a Dragon engine purchased from Dragon? Ok a lot of personal users will pirate, which they do anyway, but the bulk of the money is to be made in corporations. Most people haven't even heard of Dragon. Why don't they put a basic version on the cover of FHM or something, get the word out? When I demonstrate speech recognition, 90% of the reaction is 'wow I had absolutely no idea that was possible'. Checking whether I've got this right, as I am fairly slow and stupid.Say I purchase the SDK and develop SputnikGUI using the nice ActiveX objects contained therein. Say I purchase the SDK and develop SputnikGUI using the nice ActiveX objects contained therein.
Then users of DNSprofessional will be able to run it (as they have these ActiveX objects), but users of standard and preferred will not (because they don't).No you don't need the SDK to develop an application with the ActiveX objects, you can develop the application using the very same ActiveX objects provided with a professional version of DNS. You don't need to distribute the ActiveX objects but you can utilise the objects already installed on a target machine with a professional DNS version installed. Preferred does not come with the DLL files that are necessary to technically and legally access the ActiveX objects. Alternatively, I could construct SputnikGUI from scratch by simply plugging into the existing DLLroutines, in which case users of DNS standard/preferred would also be able to run it.Not the existing DLL functionality as supplied by Preferred, not legally anyway and not technically unless you are Stephen Hawking.Finally the SDK documentation is not definitive and not a walk-through, it is quite technical in nature, I know this because you used to be able to download the version 7 SDK help files on the Internet but I don't know if you can any more. Like I said before this is a road to infinity and I can't tell you where to start but I hope the information in the thread will provide a few clues. As a final word from me on this (thank God) here is a quote from the SDK help files actually advising what I was talking about regarding the run-time licenses. Additionally if you are distributing an application that can only be used with a professional DNS product you don't need to even supply what they suggest as the end-user already has it (basically what I am doing)Soft bundling' -For lower-volume applications, buy the appropriate off-the-shelf edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking at a volume discount and distribute it with your application.
ScanSoft provides and for Dragon NaturallySpeaking, a microphone, and everything else that comes with Dragon NaturallySpeaking, so your 'up-front' costs are lower than with a runtime license (see below). I have been playing around with the Dragon 7 SDK samples and documentation download that monkey8 referenced.I have installed Dragon 10 preferred. Also installed the free edition of Microsoft Visual C, latest edition. Running on XP SP3.I have been trying to get SDKHelpAndSamplesSamplessapisimplesr to work.it works with a bit of fiddling:#include 'speech.h' // need to put this in a few places#if!defined(AFXRESOURCEDLL) defined(AFXTARGENU)#ifdef WIN32//LANGUAGE LANGENGLISH, SUBLANGENGLISHUS #define IDCSTATIC -1And change a few BLAUS to BLAUK eg SUBLANGENGLISHUK (mostly (all?) in simplesr.cpp)Now I can get it working by:1. Running Dragon2.
Hitting F5 from visual studio to compile and run simplesr.exe3. Quitting Dragon4. Presto!But why do I have to run Dragon and quit it? This seems very ugly. Could someone help me understand what is going on?
Does it have to be this way? Is there someway to run it directly?I'm guessing maybe it works this way because the engine detects 2 entities are plugged into it, so when I quit Dragon, the engine still has one thing plugged in and so stays resident. Would it be possible to modify the code to load the engine?I'm looking at what Chucker wrote about the runtime earlier in the thread, looking at the documentation, looking at this code, still trying to understand: Can I create my own GUI without having to load DNS?If I understand correctly, this is the point at which I would need to migrate to the SDK, seeing as it sports a standalone runtime.
But Nuance does not care to reply to me 8 Surely this runtime must be contained within a standard release of Dragon. Is it really tangled inextricably with the GUI?SputnikPS On the plus side, by launching dragon followed by simplesr.exe, it switches from taking microphone input from my external USB soundcard to the inbuilt laptop soundcard, which is actually a revelation: I can dictate perfectly well by plugging the microphone into the inbuilt soundcard. This I was not expecting: the inbuilt soundcard failed the audiocheck, and I had given up on being able to use it. But now it looks like I have a dirty hack xX.
Looking to quickly and easily create speech-aware applications? Trying to integrate cutting-edge speech recognition into your dictation and transcription workflow systems? This webinar provides details about the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software developer kit (SDK), used today by developers and integrators around the globe to add speech recognition capabilities into in-house and commercial applications or workflow applications. The technical experts behind the Dragon SDK provide a complete overview of the Dragon SDK portfolio, outline features and benefits, and answer common developer questions.