The 12 Advantages and Disadvantages of Voice User Interface


Read this article to know about the advantages and disadvantages that the Voice User Interface devices offer. Checkout the benefits of these devices and how they can be helpful in human society and which factors you need to be careful of this technology.

Voice user interface is now the latest technology in devices with communication functionality. One example is a device that is equipped with speech recognition technology. These machines are virtual assistants that can do any task that they are programmed to do when the user speaks a command. Assistants from corporate giants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa are the major examples. The following are the advantages and disadvantages of a voice user interface.
Voice User Interface

The Advantages


Users can talk on the phone without putting it near to the ears


Voice user interface enables the users to speak on the phone without having to put it near to their ears. If phone rings when you are in the middle of inconvenient circumstances like bathing, driving, you just have to press a button to answer the call and then talk to the caller's hands-free. It is also safer to talk on the phone without putting it near to the ear as it is believed that cellphone can emit high energy radiation that is capable of destroying your DNA and cause cancer. Get more details at https://alan.app/blog/voiceuserinterface/.

Help you save time


If you know how VUI device works, it can be like an extra hand for you and helps you save a lot of time. When you are driving, you can communicate with Google Maps and ask it for direction to the place you want to go. This will reduce your chances of getting lost. It prevents you from having to take out your phone and navigate to the map to find the direction.

Assist in phone operation tasks


It can take over a lot of tedious jobs related to phone operation so that your employees can be positioned in better places. It can handle incoming calls and SMS text messages. It can also route your phone calls to another phone number. You can specify it to take down notes as it can turn your spoken words into text typed in the document. It is the perfect tool for administrators who want to spend most of their time in front of the computers and not with notes strewn around their desks.

Help users that suffer from Physical Impairment


It can be a great tool for people that suffer from impairments. The VUI device can read to the visually impaired users the message in the emails or articles on the website or documents. For users with hearing impairment, it can convert audiobooks and messages into text for reading on the computer screen. It is troublesome for disabled people to use their hands to interact with the products. Incorporating technology into your product will allow you to have a competitive advantage for competitors with less accessible products.

Streamline communication with foreigners


Voice recognition device can streamline the communication between people that speak different languages. This is because it has a built-in translation tool that can automatically translate what is said in a foreign language into a native language that you can understand. It can help travelers to overcome the language barrier so that they can access the necessary information with ease.

Can get things done fast


Talking is faster compared to typing - it is faster to give a voice command than have to walk to another room in the house to get a task completed. It is easier to tell Google to turn on the thermostat instead of coming out of bed to turn it up yourself. The technology is making life easier as it is being built into more and more devices. It is fast enough to be used for business purposes to complete tasks.

Improve your Speech Recognition Skills


You are training yourself on how to talk to a computer by using speech recognition devices. Many businesses are now incorporating speech recognition into their operations. If you have the device at home, you have the skill set to communicate with the speech recognition device. This can be helpful when you are looking for jobs that require this skill set or you have to face with robot job interviewers.                            

VUI Technology is Evolving


VUI technology is continuously improving. A few years back, it was hard to get the VUI right. Many people have experienced this problem before when communicating with an automated customer care center. Now, communication with the machine is becoming more and more like human conversation and lesser and lesser like robotic. This demonstrates that the researchers are doing their best to improve the VUI devices in a way that will fit into human society.

Can control multiple products efficiently


Virtual assistants like Google Home allow users to control over 1K smart home products. These products include kettles, microwave oven, and thermostats. Some devices like HomePod also allow the users to turn on several smart home devices with a single phrase like Good Morning.

The Disadvantages


Smart Home Devices are Expensive


Smart home devices which are controlled by the virtual assistants are expensive, and not everyone can afford them. They also consume a lot of electricity. So, if you have a lot of smart home devices, you can expect to pay a higher electricity bill. When there is no electricity, you cannot use them.

Leads to lost concentration on the task in hand


Using a virtual assistant with voice recognition can cause you to lose concentration on the tasks in hand. You are giving attention to the virtual assistant when providing instructions and trying to accomplish the task in hand at the same time. When the attention is divided, you are prone to making a mistake. So, before giving instructions to a virtual assistant, make sure to stop whatever you are doing.

Privacy Concerns


If you use a VUI device, your data can get tracked by the manufacturer. There have been complaints about this, for example, the Cambridge Analytica scandal claimed that Google Home and Amazon Alexa are eavesdropping on private conversations. This causes people to have worries about how their private data are being used by these manufacturers. Aware of the issue, the manufacturers are now working on offering better privacy controls to the consumers so that they can use the technology in peace.


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