Next Digital Revolution: The Voice User Interface
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Recently, I have been considerate about many modern technologies and the implications for the future of user experiences. So much was spoken of artificial intelligence, machine learning, voice assistants… with the list continuing.
Nowadays, a set of different systems and applications has enabled human-machine interaction, which includes simple things like remotes, mobile phones, switches, and screen of our computers to complex technology like Acrobat and JavaScript. With the ever-expanding technology, innovative designs are introduced every day. With your devices being increasingly conversational, your relationship with technology is even more friendly, trusting and private. One such revolution is the Voice User Interface (VUI).
A Short Intro to VUI
The Voice User Interface (VUI) is a speech recognition technology that allows you to interact or control the device through your voice.
VUI is the major player in the tech industry and assists in design elements and developing a graphical menu. The VUI, especially its virtual assistants have attracted the audience with its effectiveness and have gain popularity.
Major corporate giants like Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft have brought VUI into the mainstream with virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa and, Cortana, etc. with other companies following behind. These corporates have taken the assistance of VUI transforming devices that allow real-time translation and transcription.
What VUI Technology Can Do?
VUI is capable of performing multiple tasks that can be done on a browser like manage calendar, listen to music and search for information, etc. They have evolved from their everyday functions like making a call or setting an alarm to complex tasks like paying bills and even looking up records. Such new tools expand the reach of your digital life into places and situations where Graphic User Interfaces (GUI) cannot be carried comfortably.
This technology is used at homes as well. The smart home devices fall in this category. It interconnects all the household smart devices such as kettles, microwaves, thermostats, etc. via your phones. This enable easy hands-free communication and has changed completely the way we used to do our everyday tasks. The voice-activated features have made it difficult for us to go back to type out commands or search for information on the web.
In recent years, both web and mobile technology have been more reliant on visuals to attract the attention of the users. However, developers will once again need to take exponential attention to the details in terms of ‘language’ because of the unavoidable inclusion of Voice into Web design.
Now that the voice-interaction technology has given us all the possibilities, we must discuss the benefits, drawbacks and what lies in the future.
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The PROS
Voice User Interface holds several advantages over graphical and touch interfaces. Some of them are stated below.
- Fun To Use — A voice user interface is fun to use. There is a wider opportunity for you to find humor while using voice-based virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa. Ask Siri to make weird noises and she will call her by the wrong name and her response will crack you up. These features offer VUI a more human touch and improve brand loyalty, as you tend to choose more interactive apps or devices.
- Effective And Convenient — Another great feature that has made our lives easier is hands-free. You can ask VUI to carry out tasks for you like call someone or set the timer with just one vocal command. This has open endless opportunities for us like turning on the music without walking over to the device or make grocery lists without scrounging around for pen or paper.
- Usability For The Disabled — One of the major benefits of a voice user interface is that it has provided a platform for the disabled to perform their daily tasks like sending a text, check the time, or search for information all through a voice command.
- Speedier Entry — We all know speaking takes less time than typing. This can save a lot of our time and allows us to perform a task much more quickly and successfully.
- A Unique Experience — VUI is a special approach with its success in training and processing. This made a more human experience of looking and executing a mission. VUI is becoming more human and less artificial by its technology for speech recognition and natural language processing.
- Intuitive Control — The ability to speak comes naturally to a person. This contributes to a better understanding of the Voice User Interface. Voice control also reduces the number of instructions to a minimum.
The CONS
While there are many benefits of the Voice User Interface, there are also few setbacks that need to be discussed as well.
- Certain Limitations — Communicating with a machine has its limitations, as we cannot compare human-to-human conversation with the way we engage with a machine. This tends to disappoint a person when his device does not complete a task or erroneously answers a question.
- Lack Of Privacy — Voice searches are difficult to conduct in a public place because when you are making a web search or voicing a text, you do not want people to hear. You want it to be confidential especially while making financial activities or medical consultation.
- Lack Of Accuracy — The voice-based interface is more prone to mistakes. Let us say when you are searching for something, a mispronounced word can lead to the wrong result. This more likely depends if you are in a crowded place or not a native speaker.
- Unable To Multitask — One of the biggest downsides of Voice User Interface is that they are unable to multitask. For instance, if you are using a voice-based platform on your phone to look up a recipe, you cannot listen to music while cooking. This demonstrates that while VUI is faster for a simpler task, they cannot perform a complex task.
Can Voice User Interface Be The Next Big Platform?
With the rapid advancement and evolvement of technology, VUI aims to deliver users with a better experience, complex tasking and more human in nature. If we look at the positive aspects of VUI, we know that it holds some amazing features that have made it popular among today’s generation.
Conversely, it also has flaws. Some of the blatant problems include the inability to multitask, privacy issues and poor quality of voice and language recognition.
Nevertheless, these flaws can be overcome through proper development of complex algorithms and software applications. It can expose more opportunities for improvement both at the workplace and at home.
One such example is Amazon that launched Alexa for Business for their employees. This app helps them manage their schedules, make conference calls and keep track of their to-do-list. In short, Alexa became their virtual secretary.
Takeaway
Most of the companies are curious about how rapid evolving VUI technology will impact their businesses?
In reality, Voice will not only influence all sectors, businesses and goods in the coming decade; but it can drastically change our world.
To create an improved user experience with your voice assistants, the Voice Interface development needs to be focused. By properly developing and integrating the Voice User Interface with modern technology and overcoming its functional issues, I believe we will experience a world of visual, touch and voice technology all interconnected soon.
Huzaifa Ratlam is a UX & UI Designer concentrating on Digital Product design at Conceptualize, a digital agency based in Dubai. He helps companies in making user-centered and seamless experiences.
