Recording Badge User Utterances

Vocera records all the utterances users make during Genie interactions and saves them as audio files in the .wav format.

You can then listen to the .wav files to determine the problems specific users have, such as speaking the wrong forms of commands, mispronouncing user and group names, holding the badge while speaking, and so on.

Here are some problems you can typically resolve by listening to the .wav files in the Genie utterance subdirectories:

Table 1. Troubleshooting recorded utterances of badge users

Symptom

Possible Cause

Solution

You hear puffing, breathing, or distorted sounds while user is speaking.

The badge is too close to the user’s mouth, possibly because the user is holding it instead of wearing it.

Make sure the user wears the badge with an attachment that keeps it 6-8 inches from the chin.

You hear muffled sounding speech.

The user is holding the badge and covering the microphone.

Make sure the user wears the badge with an attachment that keeps it 6-8 inches from the chin.

You hear distant sounding speech.

The badge is too far away from the user’s mouth.

Make sure the user wears the badge with an attachment that keeps it 6-8 inches from the chin.

You hear incorrect forms of commands or keywords that Vocera does not recognize.

The user does not remember the exact form of the command.

Retrain the user with the correct commands.

Distribute supplementary learning material, such as the Vocera Badge User Guide, the Vocera Quick Reference Guide, or the Vocera Command Poster.

You hear incorrect user and group names.

The user does not remember or know the exact name of the person he or she is calling.

Show the user how to call other users with the first name and department.

See About Groups and Departments for information about creating departments. See the section called “Calling with Department Names” in the Vocera Badge User Guide.

You hear mispronounced user and group names.

The user cannot say the exact name of the user or group accurately, or the user has an accent that Vocera cannot understand.

Show the user how to train the Genie to recognize his or her own voice. See the section called “Training the Genie” in the Vocera Badge User Guide.

You hear very rapid speech or unusual pauses in the utterances.

The user has forgotten introductory badge training or has not received it.

Retrain the user. Remind the user to speak clearly and with an even cadence for optimal speech recognition.

You hear clipped words at the beginning of a command or reply.

The user starts issuing a command or replying before the Genie is finished speaking.

Retrain the user. Remind the user to wait for the Genie to finish speaking before replying.

When the Genie is speaking, the badge is transmitting. If the user interrupts the Genie, the badge is not yet ready to receive, and the beginning of the user utterance is clipped.

You hear talking after the command or reply is finished.

The user is not pausing at the end of a command or reply, but is possibly trying to speak before the badge connection has been established, or speaking to someone in a conversation unrelated to the badge command.

Retrain the user. Remind the user to pause briefly after issuing a command or reply.

The Genie uses a pause at the end of a command or reply as a cue that the command is complete. Continuing to speak effectively creates a lengthy command that the Genie cannot interpret.

You hear dropouts or choppy sounding voice.

Network problems.

Make sure the access point coverage is adequate for voice in the location where the problem occurred.

Make sure the DTIM value of access points on the badge subnet is set to 1. See the Vocera Infrastructure Planning Guide.