IBM Shoebox
1961 IBM device that recognized 16 spoken English words and digits, an early demonstration that machines could respond to voice commands.
1 milestone
IBM Shoebox Speech-Recognition Device Demonstrated
In 1962, IBM publicly demonstrated the Shoebox, a hardware device capable of recognising sixteen spoken English words, the digits zero through nine plus six arithmetic commands, and using that input to drive a calculating machine in real time, showing that limited-vocabulary speech recognition was mechanically feasible.