Paul Michael Brennan

Should we or shouldn't we use spoken commands in voice interfaces?

INTRODUCTION Letting users speak commands to the systems they are interacting with has been tried in various domains. Examples include a range of computer applications, as well as more narrowly defined domains such as aircraft systems. Using speech to control computers has never caught on in a big way, however, and in aircraft it has been limited to a few special applications. Why? Isn’t it appealing to be able to simply say “justify” when doing word processing (instead of having to give that command through pressing a command key or making a selection from a menu)? Doesn’t it make a lot of sense to let a pilot concentrate her/his attention on the main job of flying instead of fumbling for the radio and manually setting it to the new frequency?