Flaw in distracted driving study: no evaluation of Apple's "Eyes Free" Siri mode

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  • Reply 21 of 42
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by See Flat View Post


    Many years ago, just playing with the radio while driving was considered distracting and dangerous.


    Anyone that thinks that they can text, talk on a phone handless or not is deluding themselves if they think some of their reflexes are not affected.


     


    Cars a dangerous and using one merits ones undivided attention for the safety of others.



    This is the start up screen in my BMW.


     


  • Reply 22 of 42
    wovelwovel Posts: 956member
    Pushing a button with a phone in your hand is difficult. This is the only reasonable finding from this study.

    I can swerve the car to avoid an accident with the one hand on the wheel. To push a button on the dashboard I either have to put the phone down or let the wheel go. This is just one of many flaws. Given the danger their methods posed to participants (encouraging the drivers to let go of the steering wheel), the other significant finding for this study is how lax IRB standards are at A&M.
  • Reply 23 of 42
    talklertalkler Posts: 2member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lightstriker View Post



    How about voice activation just by saying "Siri" in Driving Mode? Old tape recorders had this, I can't see why smart phone don't.


    @lightstriker: Agreed! Talkler - Email for your Ears - is designed to operate exactly this way. Say "Hey, Talkler" to get the app's attention. No buttons to press. 

  • Reply 24 of 42
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    How about voice activation just by saying "Siri" in Driving Mode? Old tape recorders had this, I can't see why smart phone don't.

    talkler wrote: »
    @lightstriker: Agreed! Talkler - Email for your Ears - is designed to operate exactly this way. Say "Hey, Talkler" to get the app's attention. No buttons to press. 

    I don't think anyone disagrees with that as a concept. The problem is the technology doesn't even seem close to being ready to mirror Star Trek's voice activated computer system. How will Siri know that you didn't just use the word series or sorry or cereal, depending on your accent? How will Siri know that you're not talking to someone else in the car about Siri? How will Siri know when you are speaking and not something coming from the radio? At some point I think we'll get there but the system will need to be much more intelligent than how all commercial speech-to-text systems work.

    As for "old tape recorders had this" I have never heard of such a thing. I am familiar with tape recorder that will auto-record once it detect sound, but not any that will ignore all sounds until a specific voice command key is given.
  • Reply 25 of 42
    satoricalsatorical Posts: 60member


    Oh, your hands are free? Congratulations, your head's still up your ass.

  • Reply 26 of 42
    talklertalkler Posts: 2member

    Another concern: The original study badly confuses different types of speech technology.


     


    The original study fails to distinguish between response times for text-to-speech tasks (user listens) vs. response times for speech recognition tasks (user speaks).


     


    The original study also fails to differentiate between voice COMMANDS vs. voice DICTATION. Voice commands are utterances that draw on a small library of possible words, and can be "heads-up" because they require no proofing (e.g., user says "Reply" or "Cancel"). Voice dictation is the process of speaking a message using almost any common words in the language, and do require eyes off the road to proof the message before sending. Voice dictation also requires a special form of spoken dictation, such as "I am running ten minutes late period would you mind starting without me question mark." If you've ever tried using dictation software, you know that it requires some skill and concentration to create cogent messages.


     


    The author examines 3 different types of tasks: Send Only, Read & Reply, and Read Only. However, when publishing her response time data, she lumps together response times for the tasks that require speaking (speech recognition) and those that require listening (text-to-speech). She also lumps together results for voice command tasks (no proofing required) with results for voice dictation tasks (eyes must leave the road to proof before sending, and user must concentrate on special spoken punctuation plus message syntax).


     


    Many in the popular media have followed suit in lumping together all speech technologies and declaring them all unsafe. It's a bit like declaring all driver activities to be unsafe and distracting — whether it's talking to a passenger, glancing at the speedometer, glancing at the GPS, listening to news on the radio, singing along to the radio, or listening to your messages read aloud to you. 


     


    In our efforts to design Talkler - Email for your Ears - to be as safe as possible, we were diligent about keeping it heads-up, hands-off, and as easy as conversing with your friend in the front seat.
  • Reply 27 of 42
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    A link to your app would be helpful. It wasn't clear with the first post that you had an app.

    http://talkler.com/
  • Reply 28 of 42
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I'd like these folks to run the exact same tests with a mother in law giving directions ...
  • Reply 29 of 42
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I wonder if laws will eventually change to allow open container in driver-less vehicles.

    Why not? Not much difference from riding the restaurant car on a train when you think about it. My worry is the driver-less car taking me to god knows where like my Garmin has tried on numerous occasions. At least sober I can see it's gone bonkers. :D
  • Reply 30 of 42
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post



    I don't believe the study for a different reason: If you are not looking at the phone, what difference could it make whether the phone is in your hand or on the dashboard? And before you answer "Then your hands are not at 10 and 2", the old "10 and 2" hand position style of driving was recently discredited too.


     


    All the best drivers wrap one angry fist around around the wheel at the 12 o'clock position to better mow down drivers in their way.

  • Reply 31 of 42
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,480member
    hill60 wrote: »
    Which hand do you use to press the button on the dash?

    The one on the steering wheel or the one holding the device?
    Eyes free uses a steering wheel button
  • Reply 32 of 42
    curtis hannahcurtis hannah Posts: 1,833member
    Could eyes free work with the speakers of the car(here response? This test just further shows some users have different reactions to everything.
  • Reply 33 of 42
    ewtheckmanewtheckman Posts: 309member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hill60 View Post


     


    Which hand do you use to press the button on the dash?


     


    The one on the steering wheel or the one holding the device?





    Exactly! Having to clear a hand before you push a button necessarily slows down your response time.


     


    This study would have been a perfect opportunity to clarify whether actual handsfree usage made any actual difference in response times. They should have at least tested actual handsfree mode, preferably both. It almost seems like they had an agenda.

  • Reply 34 of 42
    mlynnc72mlynnc72 Posts: 1member
    "Now I don't know if the local Siri software is intelligent enough to know that if you ask, "how many ounces in a liter?" to not display the Wolfram Alpha results on the iDevice screen but to speak a simplified result over the speaker system, but that is beside the point in regards to these tests."

    On the contrary, it's exactly the point! In "car mode," which is what is activated by using a hands-free headset, Siri speaks her responses back to you specifically so that you don't have to look at the screen. There are also additional voice commands so that it is truly hands-free. This study failed to use the appropriate "car mode" so of course its results are unreliable.
  • Reply 35 of 42
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member


    As a person who has been using hands free systems for almost 10 yrs, it does not mater what the systems you use they all are distracting to some level. I personally used ones from Motorola as well as the ones built in to cars as in the BMW system as well as the SYNC used by Ford. Oh yeah I have played with Siri as well. I speak from lots of personal experience and I am a very good defensive driver and I can tell you any system you use which uses voice prompts still requires more attention than what people think.


     


    The simple fact of talking on a phone while driving creates enough of a distraction which can easily cause you to miss what is going on around you in the car. Now add in the fact you trying to interact with a system to listen or respond to text messages or some other activity like trying to find a bank or gas station. it all requires attention and your ability to process information. 


     


    What most people do not realize when just driving along, You brain is doing huge amounts of analysis and processing, in some case you could be doing 5 to 10 things at one time. such as seeing, listening, moving your left and right foot differently, also moving your left and right hands different as well as possible feeling what if happening with the car. If you are driving correctly your sensor systems are dealing with lots of different things at the same time, then add in trying to interact with a cell phone.


     


    Because of this I limit as in car use of my cell phone, I personally never use it when driving on new roads or places I am not familiar. I also do not use it when there is too much traffic on the roads since you never know what someone is going to do. People needs to stop entertaining themselves while the drive and just drive.

  • Reply 36 of 42
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by See Flat View Post


    Many years ago, just playing with the radio while driving was considered distracting and dangerous.


    Anyone that thinks that they can text, talk on a phone handless or not is deluding themselves if they think some of their reflexes are not affected.


     


    Cars a dangerous and using one merits ones undivided attention for the safety of others.



    And during that same time period, there were no arrogant lawmakers and idiot people who would accept invasive LAWS that attempt to control your behavior.


     


    I despise all laws related to drive distraction. They are unconstitutional from the get-go, and serve no real purpose. They don't prevent people from engaging in distracting behavior...all they do is criminalize people for non-criminal behavior.

  • Reply 37 of 42
    asterionasterion Posts: 112member
    No two ways about it -- Apple is doomed!
    /s
  • Reply 38 of 42
    erikwooderikwood Posts: 1member
    The Texas study is one of several released in the last 6 months that reiterate Speech to Text is as bad as regular Text and Drive. Dr Strayer has been studying this for 10 years at the University of Utah and his findings confirm the Speech to Text assessment. (Ref: http://www.gocognitive.net/video/david-strayer-driver-distraction-and-cell-phones )

    Other studies include: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/03/using-handsfree-texting-behind-the-wheel-as-dangerous-as-drinking-and-driving/

    Or watch an independent reporter from Oregon assess it:

    I think the technology is cool... and has value helping, for example, blind people read - like Amazon is using it for on their Kindles... but just because its cool doesn't mean its appropriate behind the wheel and science is starting to make this evident.

    Erik Wood
  • Reply 39 of 42
    mralstonmralston Posts: 6member
    Maybe they ignored Siri because, in my experience at least, it doesn't work whilst driving. I have tried to use it several times and been frustrated every time. The first problem is that the car noise means that it often doesn't pick up what I've said properly, the second problem is that the network signal whilst driving is rarely good enough to send the request off to Apple's servers. I can only speak for my own experience, but I've found it to be absolutely useless as a hands free assistant whilst driving. It's a shame, as I had high hopes for it.
  • Reply 40 of 42
    The flaw in the study has something to do with the understanding what driving really entails. If you spend 90 minutes and more in daily commute in a job you have for years, for decades, no matter if you're looking at the road or not - you are distracted while driving. Consuming food or having a latte or a bottle of water is only part of it. I see people pick their nose, apply makeup, comb their hair, sing along with their radio. Holding their phone to their ear or their face. This is not the odd person but the vast majority. Drivers using their ipad or even laptop on the interstate is nothing out of the ordinary. A bunch of kids in college will never get that - even the ones with ADHD, because they lack the experience needed to understand - I remember my student days decades ago and feel their need to make a difference.

    Eyes free is surely distracting from the act of driving - but it does so a hell of a lot less than any of the above. No need to take the hands off the wheel and steer with your knee. pushing the steering wheel button adds actually a positive shift of grip, keeping you engaged with the task of driving. Talking to Siri is multitasking for sure, but it does not undermine your awareness of traffic around you. My BMW text to voice already reads me the news, weather, calendar, Facebook, Twitter, whatever I want - yet I have to initiate with the onscreen controls, taking my attention off the road for split seconds every time. Siri will allow me to do all this in the spoken dialogue with her, just like a human copilot.
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