[Asterisk-Users] Asterisk/IVR general inquiry

[Adam Goryachev]

On Sat, 2004-03-13 at 14:40, Andrew Braae wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I am looking for some assistance here with what I think is an IVR 
> requirement...however I could be wrong - I am not just a newbie when it 
> comes to this stuff, I am perhaps the newbie of newbies at telephony stuff. 
> So I would really appreciate it if anyone could give me a general steer just 
> to the right area for the problem described here. Is it even possible there 
> is a package that does this kind of thing? An open source solution would be 
> much preferred....

We all prefer open source, and we were all newbies once. It looks like
you must have done *some* research, because you sent your question to
the 'right' list...

[SNIP]
> 2) It sends the access code to the IVR system, so that its ready when the 
> supplier calls (preferably an XML message).

Yeah, but why not just update a database? add a new row with your
'access code' to a table of allowable codes...

> Anyway, this is where the telephony part starts. When the supplier follows 
> the instructions in the email and calls the IVR system, they hear a short 
> pre-recorded message telling them to enter their access code. The IVR system 
> authenticates the code they enter. They then hear a short instructions 
> (pre-recorded, and always the same), and then they can leave their message. 
> Its very simple, they just leave the message and hang up, there is no 
> interactivity. All they need to do is to be able to edit their message just 
> like you would on voicemail - listen to it, cancel it, confirm it once they 
> get their message right.
> As soon as the supplier has completed this stage, then the IVR system will 
> make sure the code can't be used again.
> 
> Then the IVR system sends the data back to the business system. Again, this 
> would preferably be in an XML message. The message would contain both the 
> access code and the raw data of the voice message (preferably in mp3 so it 
> could be played straight-away on a computer).

Sounds like a reasonably simple agi script. (not that I have written
any, but I have looked at some written by other people).

You simply play a file, wait for some key presses, check them against
the above database, if ok, play another file, record a sound, play the
sound + another file (is it right?), wait for keypress, and either save
or repeat. When ready, just save the soundfile to the DB, (which marks
the access code 'used'), and perhaps send some 'signal' to your
'business system' to collect the message from the DB, and delete the
row.

If you really want it in mp3, then you might need to use sox to convert
it, I think the default is to record in wav format (which is probably
more likely to work on the client PC than mp3 is).

> Thats it. Like I said, I hope I am not addressing the wrong group entirely. 
> This was a long question but even a very short answer would be much 
> appreciated - guiding me to software/hardware/news groups/FAQs/whatever.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any help, sorry for any inconvenience if this is badly 
> directed.

So, depending on call volumes, and your location, I would suggest a
T100P or E100P, or the TE410P. Even for small volumes, I would suggest a
chan_capi supported card and ISDN rather than any analogue solution.

Plus you need a PC with linux installed ....

Apart from that, you need to either find someone who knows asterisk to
set it up for you (suggested if you have a tight schedule or don't know
enough) and to write the agi script for you... (or do it all yourself,
especially if you are familiar with linux and a programming language
(any language will work, so use the one you are most familiar with).

Regards,
Adam

-- 
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Adam Goryachev
Website Managers
Ph:  +61 2 9345 4395                        adam at websitemanagers.com.au
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