Address entry while driving: speech recognition versus a touch-screen keyboard

Hum Factors. 2004 Winter;46(4):600-10. doi: 10.1518/hfes.46.4.600.56813.

Abstract

A driving simulator experiment was conducted to determine the effects of entering addresses into a navigation system during driving. Participants drove on roads of varying visual demand while entering addresses. Three address entry methods were explored: word-based speech recognition, character-based speech recognition, and typing on a touch-screen keyboard. For each method, vehicle control and task measures, glance timing, and subjective ratings were examined. During driving, word-based speech recognition yielded the shortest total task time (15.3 s), followed by character-based speech recognition (41.0 s) and touch-screen keyboard (86.0 s). The standard deviation of lateral position when performing keyboard entry (0.21 m) was 60% higher than that for all other address entry methods (0.13 m). Degradation of vehicle control associated with address entry using a touch screen suggests that the use of speech recognition is favorable. Speech recognition systems with visual feedback, however, even with excellent accuracy, are not without performance consequences. Applications of this research include the design of in-vehicle navigation systems as well as other systems requiring significant driver input, such as E-mail, the Internet, and text messaging.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic / prevention & control
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attention / physiology*
  • Automobile Driving*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Ergonomics
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hypermedia*
  • Male
  • Perception / physiology
  • Probability
  • Safety
  • Sensation
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Speech Recognition Software
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • User-Computer Interface*
  • Word Processing