Multimodal Toolkit and XHTML+V: a new step towards the future

In order to ease the development of devices with visual and voice interfaces for PDAs and other handheld devices, the Multimodal Toolkit and Rational Application Developer can be used. By using these products one can minimize the skills and time needed for creating complicated programs that use XHTML+V(XHTML + VOICE) on compatible devices.

XHTML+V is a new technology, that combine XHTML and voice interfaces on small devices, like PDAs and tablets. It is accomplished by combining different web standards, such as ECMAScript, JavaScript, and XML Events. As the technology goes further, the devices tend to be smaller and harder to manipulate, so the XHTML+V technology comes to improve the interactivity of small devices, by using visual and voice interfaces, due to the great processing power that the modern PDAs posses.

XHTML+V supports both voice input and voice output. By predefining the possible input text, and using special software that could recognize the spoken words, the software developers create a viable interface. Also, by implementing speech synthesis software the effect of voice output is received.

Also, the Multimodal Toolkit provides the developer with the ability to create applications that use multimodal access, meaning that they can be manipulated with the stylus, keyboard, and voice in the same time. Imagine yourself that you can write some text in a field, only by speaking it to the device, or that you can choose an element from a menu by reading its name.

With the new technology, the internet access will be much easier for the disabled, by supplying access to the information. The blind people could use XHTML+V in order to easily communicate with the devices, surf on the net and do other useful things that they were unable to do before. Also, by using voice, the impaired get an increased level of mobility and commodity in using the new informational technology.

The Multimodal Technology opens a new era in PDA development, so that now the access to information and the ease of use combine, towards an age of open information.