Voice-Controlled In-Vehicle Systems: Effects of Voice-Recognition Accuracy in the Presence of Background Noise

This paper presents initial findings from a driving simulator study comparing user responses to a noise-robust voice-controlled system while driving to a noise-sensitive one in the presence of background noise. Twenty participants interacted with both noise-sensitive and noise-robust simulated voice-controlled infotainment systems while driving under three background noise conditions (no noise, music, and children). While both systems were viewed as useful and satisfying, user acceptance was affected by background noise with the noisesensitive system, but not the noise-robust one. There was also no evidence that user acceptance was calibrated by having background noise as a context for varying levels of accuracy. No significant differences were observed between the two systems in driving performance metrics analyzed (average speed, speed variability, and standard deviation of lane position), but the use of either system affected driving performance compared to baseline driving. A larger sample size at the end of this study along with the analysis of a larger set of performance metrics will provide further insights.