ABSTRACT
Automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology has been operational in a number of industrial applications for more than two decades. Recent improvements in the recognition algorithms mean that this technology can be considered in an even greater range of applications, and this paper focuses on the employment of speech recognition in armoured fighting vehicles. An experimental study is reported which considered the evaluation of this technology in the context of the CRM (cockpit resource management) paradigm. Comparisons were made between two groups of vehicle operators: one group using ASR technology, and the other push-button menus. It was found that ASR technology reduces the total amount of communication between crew members, as well as reducing the amount of task-related work that the crew were carrying out. The implications of these findings question the benefit of ASR use within a team-based environment which requires rapid crew communication.
