Voice control of vehicle functions and features is the topic of this week’s in-depth article. We hear more and more about voice technology, as the technology is maturing and electrification makes for much quieter cabins.
Speech recognition in vehicles has been around for two decades—the 2001 BMW 7 Series offered it—but it’s a tough challenge. Road-wind-powertrain noise make it hard for a machine to accurately ‘hear’ and parse what the driver has said. Even the best AI can’t really use context clues as humans can, and so rather than reducing distraction for the driver, voice control often just made a frustrating nuisance of itself because the environment was just not appropriate.
As increasing numbers of new cars run on electricity and active noise cancellation is proliferating, squeaks and creaks and rattles that used to be masked by what was normal ambient noise are exposed, and subsequently silenced. It’s a good feedback loop making car interiors less and less noisy, thus quietly paving the way for tvoice control to finally let drivers use the features they want while keeping hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, and consequently simplifying HMI design.
The first DVN Interior Think Tank Seminar will focus on HMI (as well as lighting and sustainability), including exploring as a group how new technology will make voice command safer, more intuitive, and accessible to all. It is now tentatively planned for Köln on 15 November. We’ll continue to inform you as we develop the event. How does the idea strike you? What would you like to see and do at the event? Please send us your thoughts. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s newsletter!
Sincerely yours,