The
U.S. Air Force revealed that the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter,
which will be out in 2008, will be the first U.S. fighter to respond to voice
commands. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate
has been deliberating on the idea for some time, and has even tried out
different systems from a variety of companies. They have finally zeroed in on
The DynaSpeak speech recognition software, which has been developed by SRI
International in conjunction with Adacel Systems. The system hooks on to the
plane's onboard computer. It will be used to give commands for both
communication and navigation. The requested data will then come up in the
pilot's helmet display. With voice recognition commands handy, the pilot will be
able to stay focused on maneuvering the planes and will not have to flip
switches or press buttons to retrieve information. The DynaSpeak system for the
military requires no particular accent or speech directives to be used. Any
pilot flying the F-35 can start using it immediately
The Warfighter Interface Division of the Human Effectiveness
Directorate is now testing the system in real planes and collecting data on its
accuracy to make sure it's ready for operational tests, evaluation and
implementation in 2008.
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