Information services are generally costly to operate, as they require a large number of human operators. For example, Oslo og Akershus Trafikkservice receives 26.000 calls requesting information on bus and train schedules every week. Full or partial automation of this service could result in big savings and increased capacity, thus an improved service both for the service supplier and the user. In Sweden, Telia has partially automated the directory assistance using speech technology, resulting in a calculated cost reduction of 40Mkr annually.
Automation of telephony based information services will put high requirements to the user friendliness of the service, i.e. to the user interface. In order to answer a query, the system will need to be given specific pieces of information from the user (e.g. for information about bus traffic, where the user wants to go from and to, and at what time). Also, depending on the answer to the query, the user might want to obtain additional information. In order to complete such an information retrieval transaction, the system and the user will need to partake in a dialog, where both the user and the system communicate by speech.
There is currently a high level of activity in the research and development of spoken dialog systems internationally. However, even though much of the basic technology can be applied to a Norwegian spoken dialog system, much R\&D will be necessary in order to develop the the foundations for a spoken dialog system for the Norwegian language. The need for support for the Norwegian language is evident, and is underscored in the proposal for a national strategy on information technology ("Den norske IT-veien. Bit for bit").