SCADA, Telematics & GPS Technologies

Can speech recognition reduce driver distraction when using cell phones or in-car entertainment and navigation systems?

Vendor studies are typically self-serving, but the latest research from speech recognition specialist Nuance Communications conforms to ISO standards for automotive safety tests, the company said.  Tests were conducted at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany.

The ISO’s lane-change-task test exposes drivers to specified skills while performing tasks such as making calls, using an MP3 player and programming a GPS unit.  Some researchers challenge the test’s validity because it partially involves subjective observations, although it is a commonly used measurement.

In the Nuance test for making calls, “Speech input improved the ability to maintain the ideal car position by 19% compared to manual dialing.  Speech input was also approximately 40% faster in making a call, reducing the distraction period by the same amount,” the company said.

For music systems, an average driver can be 50% more distracted and take twice as long to change lanes when selecting music manually compared to using speech, while for navigation the use of speech results in 10 times less swerving, officials said.

Nuance said its technology is available in 100 models of cars and in 5 million vehicles total from all major manufacturers.

Source: Wireless Week