Anyone who has ever craned their neck to hold a phone between their ear and their shoulder can appreciate the benefit of hands-free communication. For first responders, the situation is typically much more serious than trying to chat with a friend while cooking dinner, though. They are often in critical response scenarios where a hands-free voice interface would improve both safety and efficiency, which could ultimately translate into saving lives.
As part of its mission to support the identification and integration of existing and emerging technologies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) partnered with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and their sub-contractor Think-A-Move to develop Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) technology. The resulting innovation is known as the Direct Artificial Intelligence System Interface, or DAISI, which enables voice-activated capabilities in noisy operational environments. DAISI was selected out of multiple prototypes developed in response to an April 2018 request for proposals.