Speech-to-Text

Service description

The service Speech-to-Text allows researchers at Karlstad University to have research material in the form of audio and video files transcribed via machine transcription. The service supports transcription in multiple languages.

Please note that this service may only be used provided that the material does not contain classified information according to the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (OSL). If in doubt as to whether the material is confidential according to OSL, you can consult one of the university’s legal officers.

The service is provided by the company Amberscript B.V. with SUNET as contracting party. Files are uploaded via a web interface from your Kau computer (administered by IT Services) and Amberscript software performs the transcription. Finished transcriptions are then downloaded and saved on your Kau computer or in a service with adequate security such as Sunet Drive. You must then promptly delete the file located in Amberscript's web service. For more information, please refer to Rules of Procedure for the Processing of Information in Systems and Services (in Swedish) at Karlstad University.

To have access to service, you need to be an employed researcher at Karlstad University and have a valid KauID login. 

How to get started

1. Request an account for the service by emailing publiceringsstod@kau.se

2. The University Library creates the account and you will receive a confirmation from Amberscript. You will also receive information about the service from the University Library. 

3. Follow the instructions in the automatically generated email that you received from Amberscript to log in.

4. Log in via SSO (KauID) and FrejaID. 

Support

Support is provided primarily by the service provider Amberscript:

• Chatbot with FAQs and instructional videos (available 24/7)

• Live chat support in Swedish and English (9:00-18:00)

• Email support

• Phone support in English ( 9:00-18:00)

• Webinar (SUNET)

You need to have user rights in order to access the support services.

For general questions about the service or for error reports, contact publiceringsstod@kau.se (University Library). 

Fees

The service is currently paid for by the University Library. The provider bills the University Library monthly based on the number of users and the length of the completed transcriptions. Currently, the price for completed manuscripts is ca 1 SEK/minute. Each completed transcription is charged, regardless of quality or if the same file is processed multiple times.

The payment model will be evaluated when the system has been in operation for a few months, and adjusted if necessary. 

Important to know about the service

GDPR and IT security

As a researcher/customer, you are responsible for the content that you wish to have transcribed. The service may only be used provided that the material does not contain classified information. However, the service has been assessed to meet the security requirements to process sensitive personal data in accordance with Article 9 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The subcontractor Amberscript does not save the information after the transcription is completed and delivered to the web interface. You are responsible for promptly removing documentation for transcription and the delivered transcription from the web interface, as well as for ensuring that the finished transcription is stored securely in Kau's authorised services for this purpose (see Rules of Procedure for the Processing of Information in Systems and Services - in Swedish). Only the owner of the files can see them in the web interface; no one who administers the system either locally at Kau or at Amberscript has access to the users' material.

The university has a personal data processing agreement with the supplier, which includes that personal data may not be transferred to countries outside the EU/EEA. The data is encrypted both in the transmission between the user and Amberscript and in the storage.

Current information from the supplier about personal data protection and IT security

Delivered transcriptions

As a researcher/customer, you are responsible for saving delivered material before promptly deleting it from the web interface. Amberscript has no capacity to recover material deleted from the web interface. 

More information about the service

Contact: publiceringsstod@kau.se