Using VoiceXML to Provide Universal Access

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Using VoiceXML to Provide Universal Access

• Brand Niemann
• Office of Environmental Information
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Presentation to
• XML World 2002
• New Orleans, September 23-25, 2002

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Abstract

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used
  VoiceXML to build a Web-based system that
  provides public access to a database of more than
  3,000 Local Emergency Planning Committees.
  Applications developed with VoiceXML opens the
  Internet to people who cannot use a computer
  keyboard, whether they are visually impaired, use
  only a wireless phone, or do not have Internet
  access.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys
  content network incorporates NextPages NXT 3 P2P
  Platform. This P2P technology enables distributed
  content in an XML format to be converted to
  VoiceXML applications. Many government agencies
  and businesses have at least one mission critical
  service that could be voice-based and deployed
  through the Internet using VoiceXML.

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Overview

• 1. Basic VoiceXML Application
• 2. Peer-to-Peer XML-Based Content Networks for
  Universal Access
• 3. Some New Initiatives
• 4. Contact and Press Information

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1. Basic VoiceXML Application

• 1.1 Architecture.
• 1.2 EPAs Local Emergency Planning Committee
  Database.
• 1.3 EPA Web Site and XML Web Service.
• 1.4 VoiceXML File and Development Tools.
• 1.5 EPA VoiceXML Application Telephone Number.

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1.1 Architecturehttp//www.voicexml.org/,
http//www.w3.org/Voice/
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1.2 EPAs Local Emergency Planning Committee
Database

• Enter your zip code to retrieve environmental
  information about your community
• Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPCs)
  provide a forum for emergency management
  agencies, responders, industry and the public to
  work together to understand chemical hazards in
  the community, develop emergency plans in case of
  an accidental release, and always look for ways
  to prevent chemical accidents. Local industries
  must provide information to LEPCs about chemical
  hazards, LEPCs are required by law to make this
  information available to any citizen who requests
  it. You can make a difference by attending an
  LEPC meeting or joining your LEPC.
• Please Note Currently we have over 3000 listings
  in our LEPC Database. It is our goal to provide
  the most current and accurate information. We
  look to the LEPC community to help us
  successfully meet this goal. Please forward any
  changes or corrections to Dana Robinson. These
  changes will be incorporated and updated monthly.

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1.3 EPA Web Sitehttp//www.epa.gov/ceppo/lepclist
.htm
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1.3 XML Web Service http//130.11.53.73/lepc/FMPr
o?-dbLEPC.FP5-format-fmp_xmlzip_lepczip_code
22181-find
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1.4 VoiceXML File http//130.11.53.73/brand.vxml
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1.4 VoiceXML Development Toolshttp//studio.tellm
e.com/
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1.5 EPA VoiceXML Application Telephone
Number1-866-745-7735

• Welcome to the E. P. A. Local Emergency Planning
  Committee finder.
• Please speak or touch-tone your 5 digit Zipcode.
• 84040
• Here are results for the Zipcode 84040.
• The L. E. P. C. nearest to you is listed in the
  E. P. A. database as follows. Davis County. At
  Davis County Sheriffs Department located in the
  city of Farmington.
• Thank You for calling, goodbye.

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2. Peer-to-Peer XML-Based Content Networks for
Universal Access

• 2.1Government Blue Pages Pilot.
• 2.2 EPA-State Content Network and EPA-CDC
  Environmental Health Tracking Network.
• 2.3 Federal Government Content Network.

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2.1Government Blue Pages Pilot

Current
http//bp.fed.gov/ (offline)
Print
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2.1Government Blue Pages Pilot

Reinvented as an XML Web Service and VoiceXML
Application
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2.1Government Blue Pages Pilot

Reinvented as an XML Web Service and VoiceXML
Application
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2.1Government Blue Pages Pilot

Reinvented as an XML Web Service and VoiceXML
Application
Search Form
XML Output
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2.1Government Blue Pages Pilot
Reinvented as an XML Web Service and VoiceXML
Application
Search Form
Web Output
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2.2 EPA-State Content Network EPA-CDC
Environmental Health Tracking Network

• Government should stop looking at the number of
  portals they can put up and rely on a few private
  channels to provide information to the public
  (Stephen Goldsmith, e-gov advisor to President
  Bush, April 16, 2002).
• With the proliferation of portals, the Gartner
  Group has coined the term Uber Portal for a
  portal that sits on top of the portals (The
  Gartner Group, Emerging Internet Technologies,
  Local Briefing, June 27, 2001, page 19).
• Peer-to-peer content networks provide a way for
  users to simultaneously access Internet sites,
  databases, intranets and other formal or informal
  content resources as if the content existed in a
  single location. (Andy Warzecha, The META Group,
  3/12/2002)
• With all the portals, Uber Portals, and content
  networks being built, lets make sure they are
  interoperable and not just more silos of
  replicated, warehoused, and/or disconnected
  information repositories (the author).
• Peer-to-peer Every device connected to the
  network is both a server and consumer of content.

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2.2 EPA-State Content Network EPA-CDC
Environmental Health Tracking Network

• NextPage NXT 3 P2P Platform
• Esther Dysons Release 1.0, 1/22/2002
• NextPage is unique in the content-management
  market in its distributed approach
• NextPages platform, NXT 3, virtually connects
  the distributed information sources and makes
  them appear integrated to the user. Unlike
  syndication, in which content is copied and
  integrated with other content locally, NextPage
  keeps objects where they are.
• NextPage uses the standard simple object access
  protocol (SOAP) to exchange and normalize
  information between local content directories,
  assembling meta-indexes so that users can search
  or manipulate content transparently, regardless
  of physical location.

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2.2 EPA-CDC Environmental Health Tracking Network
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2.3 Federal Government Content Network
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2.3 Federal Government Content Network

• NXT 3 supports the following Enterprise Content
  Management functions
• a. Repurposing good content to make it better
  with XML
• b. Relational databases delivered as XML and HTML
• c. Customization of search forms
• d. Web sites indexed and archived
• e. Local files indexed and searched
• f. Distributed content nodes
• g. Managing distributed content with a Web
  Browser
• h. Manage distributed content with a
  Windows-based client
• i. Personalization of the Interface
• j. Portal Over Portals (Uber Portal)

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2.3 Federal Government Content Network
NXT 3 Platform Architecture and Services (SCOTS)
Standards-based Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software
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2.3 Federal Government Content Network
NextPage Content Management Publishing Solution
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3. Some New Initiatives

• See a future with commercial and non-commercial
  XML Web Services linked, chained, and/or
  integrated together with the advantage to the
  government of not having to replicate databases
  and infrastructure to build and maintain certain
  databases and services (author components once
  and use them many places)
• 3.1 Commercial and Government Directory Listings.
• 3.2 Interfaces to XML Web Services.
• 3.3 Spatially Enabling the EPA with the OGC XML
  Standards and the OGC Spatial Web Registry
  Service (WRS).

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3.1 Commercial and Government Directory Listings

• Qsent Features
• Over 145 million residential, business and
  government listings (99). Every record verified
  through phone installation and account activation
  with credit history.
• 250,000 to 500,000 updates daily
• Four searches methods
• U.S. Residential search for an individual
• U.S. Business and Government search for
  business or government agencies
• Reverse Lookup search by telephone number
• U.S. All search all directories at once
• Geographic searches
• City Surround expand search incrementally from
  city center (lowest ZIP)
• Neighborhood Search search by neighborhoods
  using ZIP4

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3.1 Commercial and Government Directory Listings

MapPoint
Qsents iQ411 Applications Interactive,
Integrated, Batch

• iQ411 Interactive is a web-based directory
  information service that provides real-time,
  daily updated, definitively accurate data for
  residential, business and government listings for
  the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
• iQ411 Integrated provides real-time system
  integration using the industry-standard XML API
  to send and receive XML messages and data.
• iQ411 Batch provides off-line processing via
  automated FTP services for accurate appending and
  validation of phone numbers and address
  information.

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3.1 Commercial and Government Directory Listings
Verify EPA Facility Location Data and Perform
Emergency Notification and Data Collection with
VoiceXML
Simulated Contamination From Umatilla Army Depot
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3.1 Commercial and Government Directory
Listingshttp//xml.house.gov/Members/mbr107.xmlh
ttp//xml.house.gov/Members/USHouseMembers.xsdhtt
p//xml.house.gov/Members/members.xslt
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3.1 Commercial and Government Directory Listings
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3.1 Commercial and Government Directory Listings

• Customer dials 411
• Can you give me the address for [phone]?
• VXML Platform intelligently redirects the call to
  Voice Server.
• VXML server plays the operator and gets
  relevant information.
• Information is relayed to iQ411 servers over the
  internet.
• iQ411 servers respond to the request in real-time
  returning all the relevant information.
• Information is presented to the customer via
  voice
• The address is 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
  Washington, DC 20460.

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3.2 Interfaces to XML Web Services

• Vultus
• Web Services user interface products and
  development tools based on open Internet
  standards and protocols (XML, SOAP, WSDL,
  UDDI).
• Based on WebFace Application Markup Language
  (WAML), a simple XML language that developers can
  use to describe the interface and behavior of
  their applications.
• Deploys to the Web without any browser
  modification or plug-in.
• Delivers an advanced UI, replicating the look
  fell of a Windows environment.

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3.3 Spatially Enabling the EPA with the OGC XML
Standards the OGC Spatial Web Registry Service
(WRS)

• The Open GIS Consortium
• OGC is an international industry consortium of
  more than 230 companies, government agencies and
  universities participating in a consensus process
  to develop publicly available geoprocessing
  specifications. Open interfaces and protocols
  defined by OpenGIS Specifications support
  interoperable solutions that "geo-enable" the
  Web, wireless and location-based services, and
  mainstream IT, and empower technology developers
  to make complex spatial information and services
  accessible and useful with all kinds of
  applications.
• The OGC has a vision of a world in which everyone
  benefits from geographic information and services
  made available across any network, application,
  or platform.

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3.3 Spatially Enabling the EPA with the OGC XML
Standards the OGC Spatial Web Registry Service
(WRS)

• Geography Markup Language (GML)
• An XML-based common encoding for spatial
  features.
• Makes it possible to renders legacy and
  third-party data and services interoperable
  minimizing the coupling between components.
• Enables multi-source, multi-sensor fusion.
• Can be converted to SVG on-the-fly.

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IONIC Worldview
Imagery Coverage Server
BaseMap Feature Server
RDBMS / GIS / non-GIS Features Servers ?
Objects ? GML/XML ? Rendering
Raster Map Server
Topo Map Server
Network Feature Server
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(No Transcript)
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Cascading WFS/WMS
OGC WRS
1
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4. Contact and Press Information

• Contact
• Brand L. Niemann, Ph.D.
• Office of Environmental Information (MC 2822T)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• 202-566-1657
• niemann.brand_at_epa.gov
• http//www.sdi.gov
• Press
• http//www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0318/cov-tech
  2-03-18-02.asp
• http//xml.gov/documents/completed/VoiceXMLaward.h
  tm
• http//www.gcn.com/21_7/news/18303-1.html
• http//www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0617/cov-web-
  06-17-02.asp