{"id":3357,"date":"2019-10-07T18:11:29","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T18:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/?p=3357"},"modified":"2020-09-14T17:38:50","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T17:38:50","slug":"voice-first-technology-the-future-of-user-interface-in-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imegcorp.com\/insights\/blog\/voice-first-technology-the-future-of-user-interface-in-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"Voice-first technology: The future of user interface for controlling building systems"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Jeff Carpenter\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Every building system in today\u2019s modern facilities has computerized technology behind it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Interacting with that computer is done through a user interface.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Th<\/span>e art and science behind creating<\/span>\u00a0those user interfaces is called\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>user experience design<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>UX<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0for short. Companies spend significant amounts of R&D money on improving\u00a0<\/span>the usability of their products<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>UX\u00a0<\/span>is one important\u00a0<\/span>focus of that effort<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some of the ways<\/span>\u00a0h<\/span>uman\u00a0<\/span>beings interact with technology in buildings<\/span>\u00a0include<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Users are not always satisfied with their interactions with these systems, however.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the most complaint-riddled system in the examples above is audio\/video. A\/V equipment is found in all types of building spaces: personal offices, huddle spaces, classrooms, conference rooms, etc. A common source of complaints with this equipment is the interface used to control the equipment.\u00a0 Touchscreen controls are viewed as complicated and confusing. Push button controls often are placed on walls to eliminate the \u201cconfusing touchscreen,\u201d but push buttons\u00a0<\/span>have<\/span>\u00a0very limited control options.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another example is my recent experience with the HVAC thermostats in a newly built hotel. Technology is part of my daily life personally and professionally<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0yet I could not figure out this brand of thermostat. I could not get the room to the temperature that I wanted it to be. The user interface was horrible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s the solution? Do we continue to refine and improve the current user interfaces incrementally? Or is there another solution?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, the enterprise soon will be influenced by innovation in the consumer electronics industry. Voice-first interfaces, or voice<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>user interfaces (VUI) could very well be the future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A new day for VUI<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n VUI is self-explanatory \u2013 it uses human speech as the main method of interacting and controlling computers. VUI is not new, however, and impressions of the technology often are negative. For example, automobiles have had voice recognition capability for many model years. But how many times have you tried to talk to your car only to hear it reply, \u201cDid you mean\u00a0<\/span>(<\/span>something that is nothing close to what you said<\/span><\/i>)<\/span><\/i>?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Clearly, early attempts at\u00a0<\/span>VUI<\/span>\u00a0have not been impressive. However, technology improves exponentially<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and several new advanced technologies\u00a0<\/span>point to<\/span>\u00a0a new day for VUI.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Legacy voice interfaces rely on a fixed set of structured commands\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0require the user to know, understand<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and specifically state the command. The computer is programmed to understand and do something in response to the utterance of one of these structured commands. For example, the system may be programmed to understand the spoken command<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cTune to 102.5 FM<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d but will fail if the user says, \u201cPlay 102.5 on the radio.\u201d\u00a0 Thankfully, these types of VUI are largely relics of the past \u2013 and rightfully so. They often led to more frustration than value.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The revolutionary improvements in VUI come from two main areas of science: natural language processing\u00a0<\/span>(NPL)\u00a0<\/span>and machine learning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In layman\u2019s terms,\u00a0<\/span>NPL\u00a0<\/span>is a science that seeks to understand intent in the content of speech and turn that into action<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0instead of requiring the user to\u00a0<\/span>speak\u00a0<\/span>a predetermine<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0command phrase. As an example, you can see NPL in action by using smartphone navigation with Google Maps. The results of\u00a0<\/span>any of the\u00a0<\/span>spoken commands\u00a0<\/span>below (and more)\u00a0<\/span>will result in Google Maps calculating a route to your house.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Learning from Big Data<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Machine learning \u2013 a broad and complicated area of computer science \u2013 is a<\/span>n essential component\u00a0<\/span>of NPL<\/span>. A crude summary of machine learning is\u00a0<\/span>the analysis of increasingly vast amounts of data (Big Data) to \u201cteach\u201d<\/span>\u00a0the computer to predict\u00a0<\/span>results from that data\u00a0<\/span>and anticipate desired actions without being specifically programmed for that specific scenario.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yet again, Google Maps\u00a0<\/span>provides a relatable\u00a0<\/span>example of the combination of NPL and machine learning. A frequent user of Google Maps will\u00a0<\/span>eventually\u00a0<\/span>notice proactive destination prediction notifications within the app. Rather than the user initiating the navigation command to \u201ctravel home\u201d at the end of the day, machine learning results in the application\u2019s anticipatory prompt<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0\u201cAre you going home?\u201d This activates the VUI and allows the user to simply say\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>yes<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>no.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Consumers already can experience the rapid progression of\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>combined power of voice-first interfaces, natural language processing<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and machine learning in two very inexpensive consumer electronics devices: Amazon Echo and Google Home. These devices, and the integrations they already provide to other systems, provide a glimpse of the future for less than $200 each. Those products will continue to evolve with additional capability over time.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Imagine the potential in our buildings as this technology works its way\u00a0<\/span>in<\/span>to the commercial sector<\/span>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Voice-first interfaces are the future and the future\u00a0is\u00a0not very far away.\u00a0<\/span>The possibilities are limited only by our imaginations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Companies spend significant amounts of R&D money on improving\u00a0the usability of their products,\u00a0and\u00a0UX\u00a0is one important\u00a0focus of that effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-technology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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