Captains Archer, Kirk, Janeway, Picard and Sisko would be proud. In just the latest example of sci-fi fact echoing Star Trek's science fiction, Honeywell Aerospace is closing in on the creation of voice recognition for airplane pilots. Honeywell, based in Phoenix, Arizona, is actually already testing its voice recognition apparatus on airplane flight decks. The voice-recognition technology -- building upon that used in cars and smartphones -- eliminates distracting steps, said Jim Anderson, a veteran pilot and lecturer in the aviation program at Arizona State University, to Cronkite News. “(I have to) lower my head, and it takes away from looking outside,” he said. “Voice recognition is the next step. You can just say it.”
The device itself is actually a tablet, and it features not only voice recognition, but a new touchscreen as well. According to Cronkite News, Honeywell officials are aiming to include text-to-voice features in the future. Of course, there are still kinks to work out, including how to overcome such issues as accents and cockpit noise, including multiple voices and static.
