Essentially, Jennifer tells workers what location to go to and the quantity of a specific item needed in that location. The worker speaks a "check digit," the number printed on a label on the shelf to confirm they are in the right place, then announces the quantity selected. Jennifer registers that information and then offers workers directions to the next location and items to pick.
"If someone is going to be working with this for eight to 10 hours a day, a human voice is a lot easier to work with," Schriefer said.
Along with understanding the user's voice, Jennifer can also take commands. If the worker is in a hurry and Jennifer is talking too slow, the user can say "faster Jennifer," and her voice speeds up. With computerized voices, that wouldn't work because it would make it more difficult to understand, Schriefer said.
Jennifer also understands help commands, meaning at any time workers can say "Jennifer, where am I?" or "Jennifer help" to get the information they need in a voice-activated dialog.
Here a Do It Best worker uses the hands-free Jennifer system to pick items from the warehouse shelves.
