We all know what wikis are…don’t we? They’re those little directories where literally anyone can offer and add information on any topic of their choosing – from species of cats to HTML5 – then publish that information on the wiki site, ideally complete with all appropriate references and source notes. The evolution of the wiki has skyrocketed, though, transforming from a slightly unreliable yet entertaining form of information-sharing to a seal-tight source which many turn to on a daily basis, even complete with bibliographies for every entry. This led researches from the University of Aegean (located in Karlovassi on the Greek Island of Samos) to add VoiceXML (News - Alert) to the traditional wiki.

A collection of two Plum Voice blogs reported that this new addition was introduced with the sole intent of “creating a VoiceXML-powered system that could give people who can’t use or don’t have access to a computer the ability to use wiki websites.” Those who will benefit from this, as quoted in the blog, include the ‘visually impaired, technologically uneducated, and underprivileged people in accessing information originally intended to be accessed visually via a personal computer (PC).’”

As the blog well states, “Now that wikis are becoming somewhat more reliable than they were when they first came out, it’s time everyone had access.”

Furthermore, the researchers stated in their paper, Design and Implementation of a Voice-XML-Driven Wiki Application for Assistive Environments on the Web, “In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of an audio wiki application accessible via both the Public Switched Telephone Network and the Internet.”

Bringing the world of wiki to those who don’t have readily available Internet access seems simple enough, as those using the solution will only need a phone to access the application. This is similar to Plum Voice’s VoiceXML-driven IVR applications, where the company powers applications using VoiceXML, allowing individuals to access databases via the telephone.

Agreeable to the blog’s content conclusion, the use of VoiceXML for web-based applications will hopefully reflect the steady increase in and expansion of IVR usage. Who knows, VoiceXML-powered applications can significantly contribute to that.