Oldenburg/Berlin. Day-to-day work in call and service centers is characterized by a high level of ambient noise. What’s more, working with CRM software and omnichannel tools requires staff’s utmost concentration and attention. These conditions make it very difficult to understand a telephone conversation properly and at the same time retrieve and process information from different channels. To alleviate this extremely demanding situation in call centers and improve staff’s overall wellbeing and performance, scientists from the Fraunhofer IDMT in Oldenburg have developed solutions that will be on display at Call Center World in Berlin (Stand C11 in Hall 2). From 26 February to 1 March 2018, researchers from the Project Group Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology will present applications for better speech intelligibility and individual hearing settings in telephones that can make staff’s everyday work considerably easier.

An important aspect is the possibility to adjust sound and volume to the personal needs of each call center agent. Background noise during each incoming call can be reduced and individual volume levels and sound characteristics are adjusted automatically. The intelligent interaction of algorithms enhances speech intelligibility and makes listening less strenuous.

»Thanks to the possibility to adjust sound and volume to personal requirements, listening becomes far less strenuous for the user. This reduces cognitive stress and also increases staff’s wellbeing and performance«, says Christian Rollwage, Group Leader for Audio Signal Enhancement at the Fraunhofer IDMT in Oldenburg.

The researchers will also be demonstrating a speech recognition solution with a speech-to-text application for telephone systems that allows dialogue to be converted automatically into written text.  Conversion into written form makes it possible to search through a conversation later in order to analyze it or to issue recommendations for call center staff.

About the Project Group Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Oldenburg

The objective of the Project Group Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT is to transpose scientific findings related to hearing perception in normal and impaired hearing into technological applications. Its applied research priorities are the enhancement of speech intelligibility, personalized audio reproduction and computer-based acoustic speech and event detection. Our application fields include consumer electronics, transport, the automotive sector, industrial production, safety, telecommunications and healthcare.

The project group was set up in Oldenburg in 2008 as a field office of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT. Through scientific partnerships, it has close links with the Carl von Ossietzky University, Jade University in Wilhelmshaven/Oldenburg/Elsfleth, and other institutions in Oldenburg engaged in hearing research. It is also a partner in the »Hearing4all« Cluster of Excellence.