Terry
and I got a new GPS recently.
(Go
ahead and ask… but you already know the answer… it is a Garmin.)
This
new model comes with some voice recognition options, and while
driving around a few weeks ago we decided to have a bit of fun
and try it out. You might be able to guess how that went. (Hint…
not well.)
At
first the problems were definitely us. Especially since we had
skipped a few generations since our last GPS purchase, and several
modifications had been made to the standard operations.
For
the most part, operations followed the idea of previous Garmin
models we have used and owned. But the way it used autocomplete
options, the progression of address searches, and other features
took a bit of getting used to.
Then,
as familiarity and comfort increased, things turned a bit and
it was no longer operator error.
As
we waded into the voice command, several things seemed off. As
those that use such features probably understand, the first thing
that needs to be done is getting the GPS to acknowledge that you
are trying to operate it vocally. Then comes a series of navigation
statements designed to filter things down a bit. And right about
there is where all hell broke loose… sort of…
“Brooklyn
Pickle”
Nope
“Disney
World”
Nope
“Lowe’s”
“Wegmans”
“Christmas
Tree Shops”
“Michaels”
“Hobby
Lobby”
“A.C.
Moore”
No…
no… no…no… no and no
Just
about any location we tried was met with a series of options that
had absolutely nothing to do with the name we requested. As a
more detailed example (and this is an example)…
Bob:
“Brooklyn Pickle”
“Did
you say Pier One Imports?”
Bob:
“No”
“Please
say the name of the location you are trying to find.”
Bob:
“Brook” pause “lyn” pause “PICKle”
“Did
you say Mai Lan Restaurant?”
Bob
and Terry: “No!”
“Please
say the name of the location you are trying to find.
(Terry:
“Let me try”) (Slowly, carefully and clearly) “Brooklyn Pickle”
“Did
you say Micro-Lan Business”
Bob:
“You suck!”
(And
we chuckled. Until…)
“Route
cancelled”
She
said that. The female GPS voice said “route cancelled” to me after
being told it sucked.
It
was one of the most perfectly timed moments I’ve ever been a part
of involving any level artificial intelligence. And, perhaps surprisingly,
it immediately renewed my faith in this GPS unit.
(I
get it… you’re thinking that GPS units programmed like this really
aren’t artificial intelligence. And that’s almost fair. Except…
this one gave me the artificial middle finger when I was being
a smartass. So… yeah.)
Since
that time we’ve been using it with great success. As always, I
love the Garmin line and would recommend it. (And I would recommend
it knowing full well the options available on your phone and mine.)
We’ve gotten a bit more experience with most of the offerings,
and even have a bit of the voice recognition options sorted out.
(We cheated, basically by adding several things to our saved places,
which effectively forces the system to look over a much more limited
listing for the sound alikes.)
But
that route cancelled moment is still the highlight. If you can
take part in our adventures with sass, sarcasm, and a sense of
humor… well that’s perfect. And once again, Garmin surprises…
and Garmin is for me.