Is there any new cockpit that uses voice commands (think for example Siri from the new iphones) that can identify the voice of the pilot and help him/her to fly?
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3 Answers
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No, voice recognition is currently not used in aircraft as it would have to be built into the aircraft to pass certification for the aircraft and with rotating crews on aircraft, the voice recognition would need to be able to work with too many different voice types: high pitch, low pitch, male, female, accents, dialects and many more factors.
Voice recognition works because it learns from the user over time, something that is not possible in a cockpit environment with crew resource management.
There is a prototype in development by Honeywell at the moment, but it's in early stages of development.
Related reading: The benefits of a Speech Recognition enabled cockpit by AdacelPDF
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Voice recognition works because it learns from the user over time, something that is not possible in a cockpit environment with crew resource management. I would take exception with that statement - have you used Siri on an iPhone or Google Voice on an Android phone? They work fairly well for most people. That said, I still wouldn't want to trust the lives of a fully loaded A380 on Siri's abilities just yet. $\endgroup$– FreeManApr 22, 2015 at 13:10 -
$\begingroup$ Don't Siri / Google Voice work based on the recording being sent off to a processing unit somewhere at Apple's or Google's? Siri for sure does not work offline, never used Google Voice. ClassicVoice Recognition works because it identifies patterns and matches them. Since an Airbus does not have an internet uplink, I assume classic pattern matching in my answer. $\endgroup$ Apr 22, 2015 at 13:11
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$\begingroup$ @SentryRaven: Google-anything works online only. Voice is not an exception. $\endgroup$ Apr 22, 2015 at 13:28
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1$\begingroup$ @FreeMan Siri and GV work because the device itself is not processing the data, but the data center, which has far better capabilities and millions of "training" with different voice types and speech. We will get to that point at some place that devices will be able to handle this, but as it currently stands and how I worded my answer: It's currently not feasible. $\endgroup$ Apr 22, 2015 at 13:31
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1$\begingroup$ At the point that voice recognition does start to become incorporated in cockpits, it will surely be used in non-critical applications first: "OK, airplane, get ATIS for K-O-R-D." If it retrieves the weather for Timbuktu instead, no big deal. Then after that system is working well, the next step might be some limited inputs into the FMC, which (like manual inputs today) wouldn't take effect until the pilot (and, really, the other pilot also) reviews them on the screen, agrees, and presses the "Execute" button. $\endgroup$– Ralph J ♦Apr 23, 2015 at 16:55
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Yes...kind-of.
There was a product by a company called VoiceFlight which would allow you to program Garmin GPS systems (GNS 430/530), which was FAA-approved by STC for a good number of light General Aviation aircraft.
While it was not capable of flying the plane by voice instruction it could be used to program a route into the GPS, which a coupled autopilot would then be able to fly.
The VoiceFlight product has been discontinued as competition from the newer GTN 650/750 (which require less knob-twiddling to program a route) and other technologies like Connected Panel ate into the company's business to the point where it was no longer viable to remain in business, but the core idea of voice technology in the cockpit has been proven possible (and according folks who tried it, even practical). It may make another appearance some day.
answered Apr 22, 2015 at 21:38
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Yes - Typhoon uses a "Direct Voice Input" (DVI) system. This has a limited vocabulary which allows the pilot to control non-safety critical items via voice input. The current system uses an uploaded template specific to the pilot to enable recognition. Although developments are looking at various updates including removing the dependency on pilot templates.
Pilot speaks to co-pilot"I would hate to have been on that flight that descended at 15000 feet per minute".Auto-pilot to crew- "Roger" $\endgroup$Go-Around, Go-Around!- AP replies with Siri's charming voice:Sorry! I didn't quite get that. Should I start a web-search for "Ground"?$\endgroup$Adrianstates that the Typhoon is fitted with voice-recognition. Actually the voice is used to command 20+ non-critical fucntions. $\endgroup$