Speech, Speech,....NOT!

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Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/13/busin ... .html?_r=0

Voice-Activated Technology Is Called Safety Risk for Drivers

As concerns have intensified about driver distraction from electronic gadgets, automakers have increasingly introduced voice-activated systems that allow drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. But a new study says that the most advanced of these systems actually create a different, and worse, safety risk, by taking a driver’s mind, if not eyes, off the road.

In this latest study, he and a team of researchers compared the impact on drivers of different activities, including listening to a book on tape or the radio, and talking on a hand-held phone or hands-free phone.

The researchers compared how the subjects performed when they were not driving with two other conditions: when using a driver simulator and in a car equipped with tools aimed at measuring how well they drove. The researchers used eye-scanning technology to see where driver attention was focused and also measured the electrical activity in the brain.

Mr. Strayer said the results were consistent across all the tests in finding that speech-to-text technology caused a higher level of cognitive distraction than any of the other activities. The research showed, for instance, that the person interacting with speech to text was less likely than in other activities to scan a crosswalk for pedestrians. And that driver showed lowered activity in networks of the brain associated with driving, indicating that those networks were impaired by the interaction with the technology.

Mr. Strayer said that the reason for the heavy load created by the technology was not totally clear. One reason appears to be the amount of effort required to talk to the dashboard, which is greater than talking to a person, who can interrupt and ask for clarification.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by theholycow »

The article is long on conclusions but short on data. All it says is that an undescribed group of people was tested in the simulator, and that their brain activity was consistent with distraction. It implied but did not explicitly specify that they got into any simulated crashes. I'm not saying that the hypothesis is wrong, as it certainly does seem to take more attention to interact with a voice transcription system than to converse with a person (though perhaps with improvements in the technology, a more natural driving situation, and practice it might be very different), but either the study is incomplete or the article is sloppy. The article doesn't describe the input, method, or output.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by AHTOXA »

Overall I tend to agree. I notice in myself that I am not as good at paying attention to driving when I talk on the phone via in-car bluetooth as I am without the distraction.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by Krimsalt »

This is true. In school i did a report about distracted driving, and one of the studies i cited showed no difference in driving and using a handheld device and driving while being asked to calculate a cognitive task. People need to just focus on the road, screw everything else. It's a car but people want living-rooms-on-wheels
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

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I drive quite well alone and with the CD player going. I get distracted if another rider is in the car who wants to carry on conversation or if two other people in the care are having an argument. When I worked for a city parks department the others would have me drive to the work site. Then they would keep talking to me so I would forget to take my turns and it would take twice as long to get to the work site. They though it was funny that I was so easliy distracted and also appreciated the "windshield time"--yep, they even had a name for it.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by tankinbeans »

I guess it depends on the voice activated system. Mrs. Sync can be a major PITA because she doesn't always catch what I say. I usually have to try about 5 times before she does what I want her to do. Sometimes I go all Stewie and just yell,

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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by Shadow »

InlinePaul wrote:I drive quite well alone and with the CD player going.
If I'm driving in a situation that requires 100% concentration, I don't even hear the stereo in my car. In other words, lets say I'm driving on the highway....in heavy traffic...at night...during a heavy downpour. No matter what is playing on my stereo, I don't even hear it because my driving is demanding my full attention.

On the other hand, if I'm cruising along on a nice day in light traffic, I can enjoy a song playing in the background, no problem at all.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by tankinbeans »

If I'm in an unfamiliar area and trying to find my turn I'll turn my music down and roll up the windows. The buffering by the wind can get me mixed up. It's that whole half deaf thing that I have to put up with.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

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Shadow wrote: If I'm driving in a situation that requires 100% concentration, I don't even hear the stereo in my car. In other words, lets say I'm driving on the highway....in heavy traffic...at night...during a heavy downpour. No matter what is playing on my stereo, I don't even hear it because my driving is demanding my full attention.
Exactly! Same happens to me. I have my MP3 player going a lot at home and sometimes I will realize that I haven't heard the last several songs because I became preoccupied with something. I have tuned out people in the car but it is not as easy.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by six »

Shadow wrote:
InlinePaul wrote:I drive quite well alone and with the CD player going.
If I'm driving in a situation that requires 100% concentration, I don't even hear the stereo in my car. In other words, lets say I'm driving on the highway....in heavy traffic...at night...during a heavy downpour. No matter what is playing on my stereo, I don't even hear it because my driving is demanding my full attention.

On the other hand, if I'm cruising along on a nice day in light traffic, I can enjoy a song playing in the background, no problem at all.
That's human nature. Believe it or not, it is not natural for the human brain to truly multitask (short of autonomous stuff like breathing and pumping the heart). The human brain is a lot like a single-core computer CPU... we can only do one thing at a time, but the mind can switch back and forth between things so quickly that we don't notice that we are. With lots of training and conditioning, the brain can get closer to multitasking, though. Just imagine if the brain is "multi-core" though... it would be amazing, we would be able to pay attention to everything all at once.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

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six wrote: Just imagine if the brain i s "multi-core" though... it would be amazing, we would be able to pay attention to everything all at once.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by theholycow »

In vaguely related news:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/17/44373 ... ford-touch
Ford to bring back physical radio controls for frustrated touchscreen users {...}
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by Squint »

theholycow wrote:In vaguely related news:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/17/44373 ... ford-touch
Ford to bring back physical radio controls for frustrated touchscreen users {...}
Oh thank God. I don't mind touchscreens, but physical buttons are just MUCH easier to use, and can be done by feel, without having to take your eyes off the road.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Squint wrote: Image
Oh thank God. I don't mind touchscreens, but physical buttons are just MUCH easier to use, and can be done by feet, without having to take your eyes off the road.
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Re: Speech, Speech,....NOT!

Post by tankinbeans »

Do the hairy legs help in any way?
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