Professor O'Kane is one of the world's premier researchers in automated speech recognition. Her research group is developing technology that will enable computers to recognise continuous speech at normal speed, in contrast to one word commands. This has enormous potential in many fields, eg, transcription in law courts, handicapped persons, speech recognition in difficult environments and she has major collaborative programs with industry to develop the technology. Further, she has played a major role in the teaching and administrative development of the University of Canberra and in the development of engineering research in Australia through her work in professional and
government bodies.