Home Page   Example Dialogue   Publications

Although many recent systems have achieved effective spoken interaction with a computer, they tend to target the “average” portions of the population, those whose speech and hearing fall within the norm. Systems capable of finding and presenting useful information for the average user have been developed, but these systems cannot be used by everyone. People who are, for some reason, considered to be outliers in the general population cannot yet access the information these systems provide. This project is working on providing a system that can be used by everyone, including the extremes found in the general public.

The Let’s Go! project is working in the domain of bus information, providing information such as schedules and route information for the city of Pittsburgh’s Port Authority Transit (PAT)buses. You can interact with a version of this system right now by calling 412-268-3526 (requires some knowledge of Pittsburgh’s transit system).

This system is connected to the Port Authority’s main phone line during non-business hours (M-F 7pm-7am, Weekends/Holidays 6pm-8am), providing schedule information over the phone to Allegheny County bus riders when they would otherwise be unable to get it.