8. Dialogue Interface

This is a way of interacting with your environment by means of the spoken word.

For example many modern cars have a dialogue interface to allow control of the radio and mobile phone whilst driving. The driver simply says a certain command word such as 'Radio 2' whilst the car is in 'listening mode'. The computer controlling the interface will make sense of the command and take action, switching the radio to radio 2.

Another example might be in a 'smart home' where the user can control the temperature, light intensity, sound systems or curtains being closed by the use of spoken commands.

In order for these interfaces to work effectively they need to be 'trained' with the user. This involves the user speaking the commands until the system accepts the command and reacts appropriately.

Once training is complete the system becomes quite reliable in understanding the user commands. However, noise in the background can be a problem and may interfere with the interface understanding the command.

Dialogue interfaces often have a limited vocabulary.