Drivers say voice recognition is the feature in new cars that troubles them the most, according to a new study. The technology that allows drivers to vocally give requests is becoming more common in new cars, but researchers say there’s a lot to be done before voice recognition is perfected.
A recent J.D. Power quality studies report says that 32 percent of all infotainment-related complaints are due to voice recognition errors in cars. Some cars only can understand a few commands and work only if the driver is on a corresponding screen. For example, telling the system to find an address won’t work if the system is searching for radio stations.
“People think it’s their fault,” says Kristin Kolodge, J.D. Power’s executive director for driver interaction and human machine interface. “They start to raise their voices, and it still doesn’t work.”
The systems have limited memory and processing power, says Mike Thompson, an executive vice president at Nuance Communications. More vehicles need to be connected to the Internet in order to take advantage of the processing power and storage available online, Thompson says.
Thompson says the systems will eventually understand more synonyms and allow drivers to speak naturally.