Voice Recognition

As I transition into a car-centric life, I am becoming more familiar with the nuances of doing things while driving, such as making a phone call. Luckily, our car came with a built in Bluetooth system.  All I have to do is tap a button, wait for the beep, and recite the name of the person that I would like to call. Only problem was, it would not recognize anything I would say. For example, I tried try to call Kate at work (“Kate Ferguson, Work”) but I would end up dialing a random number in the US. I was annoyed and perplexed. 

For about a week I was convinced that the Bluetooth was broken, and then it dawned on me...it was not recognizing my American accent (click here to listen to the normal way I would say the phrase “Kate Ferguson, Work”). The next time I was in the car I tried my best attempt at the Australian accent (click here to listen to the way I would say the phrase “Kate Ferguson, Work” with an Aussie accent) and it worked! Now I need to work on my Aussie accent for the next time I have to make a call in the car.

I was telling the story to Ian (Kate’s uncle visiting from England) and he directed me to a video that precisely portrays the frustrations I experienced. Take a look (hilarious!).