This Thursday at Change, Bo Qin will be discussing his work on SmartVMS, an alternative messaging system designed for people who prefer using a vocal interface. SmartVMS is a communication tool built to provide a low-cost option for people who prefer a voice interface to sending messages, but prefer to know exactly how much the call will cost. In developing regions, two main problems that prevents users from using their mobile phones effectively are illiteracy and price-sensitivity, and SmartVMS can help solve those two problems. People who are illiterate can’t use text messages, and SmartVMS provides the alternative of using voice messages. People who are poor and price-sensitive want to know exactly how much they are spending on each call. With direct calls, it’s difficult to keep track of the money spent, but with text messages, it’s very clear to the user how much each text message cost. SmartVMS lets the user input how much he/she wants to spend on each voice message, and the software calculates how long the maximum length of the voice message should be based on per second billing. The initial prototype was developed on Android and was tested on 9 UW students, focusing on the concept and interface testing. What: Bo Qin on SmartVMS When: Thursday, April 8 at Noon Where: UW, Paul Allen Center, Room 203