Cars become more understanding

Software and hardware advances are enabling voice-recognition technologies to rise to industry challenges.

Voice control has long been considered the best human-machine interface (HMI), freeing drivers from menus, knobs, and buttons that contribute to driver distraction. Limitations in vocabularies and concerns about reliability have held it back, but that is changing quickly.

In recent months, several announcements from giants such as Ford, Microsoft, and IBM as well as many other leaders in the broad infotainment field have vaulted voice into the forefront. The days when users had to learn specific commands are gone, replaced by what is often called conversational voice recognition.