9/11/2023 0 Comments Radio commander voice recognition![]() ![]() Saying “Hey Mercedes, set navigation system to 1060 W Addison Street, Chicago, IL” is obviously a lot faster than typing it all in on a touchscreen, or worse, dialing it all in using an iDrive-style knob. That was true with my TSX and it’s true today with the various cars that can accomplish the same tasks without knowing those precise commands. One element that is without question a benefit and not a workaround is programming a navigation system. It was also just as much a workaround then as it is now. Sure, I had to press a talk button first and had to memorize the precise commands, but the results and time of completion were the same. Indeed, I could do the exact same trick back in 2006 using the voice commands in my Acura TSX. ![]() Now, part of the reason the SiriusXM command works is because it’s simple. With both, I would’ve just pressed a simple button if I could and be done with it far quicker than talking. For the Mercedes radio channel, it was for me jumping into a car without my radio presets programmed. For BMW recirculation, it was a workaround for a common climate control being relocated into a touchscreen menu. Of course, with both the success and failure scenarios I’ve presented, what we’re ultimately talking about is using voice controls as a workaround. This is, in theory, how it’s supposed to work, but in my experience, rarely does. This would be the “Ah, I give up, let’s ask the car” scenario.īy contrast, this morning I used the voice recognition system in a Mercedes EQE to quickly change the SiriusXM radio station.īingo! It understood and didn’t say anything back to me. That’s probably because I’m usually trying to find a function that I’ve thus far been unable find in a convoluted touchscreen interface. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve attempted to use the supposed natural speech recognition of new cars only to find that they can’t figure out what I want. “Hey BMW, please engage the air recirculation function of the heating and ventilation system of this stupid futuristic car.” “Hey BMW, turn on climate control air recirculation.” Boilerplate “ robot didn’t understand” answer. Remember, this is apparently natural speech recognition software. I was recently driving a BMW iX, and when I came upon an old truck belching fumes, I decided to try using voice controls to engage air recirculation. When I raised my concerns about the page full of tiny menu icons drivers are faced with while driving in the BMW i4 and iX, a BMW software engineer gave me the voice control answer. When I asked a Toyota/ Lexus technical communications rep why it would remove those menu buttons and the ability to split the screen between content sources as you could do previously in some of its vehicles, I got the voice control answer. For both, it also means aggravating satellite radio interfaces. For BMW, that means burying functions like key climate controls and adaptive cruise control following distance within a sea of touchscreen menus. ![]() For Toyota/Lexus, that means getting rid of the excellent physical menu buttons and split-screen functionality. Toyota and BMW, for example, have gone downhill in terms of how intuitive and easy their touchscreens are to figure out and operate once under way. I’ve been hearing something roughly like that a lot recently while raising some, um, concerns I have about several recently overhauled infotainment systems. “Oh, you see, it’s totally fine that you can’t use the touchscreen like you’re used to anymore or that we’ve removed 27 buttons from the interior! You can just use our totally awesome voice controls!” ![]()
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