Defense firms research voice commands to speak with drones

“The ultimate goal right now, largely influenced by Ukraine, is to make the interactions between the operator and the drone as efficient as possible,” said Samuel Bendett, research analyst at the U.S.-based Center for Naval Analyses. “This includes how the data is transmitted from the UAV and how it is analyzed by the operator,” he added, using the acronym for unmanned aerial vehicle.

...

Bendett, the defense analyst, concurs that although the capability could prove to be convenient, every operator works in a unique way – some may prefer to work as they do now, using visual modalities, while others would be satisfied having a drone communicate back using an actual voice.

Another challenge he highlights is related to the possibility for some users to get emotionally attached to their systems.

“Some are getting attached to their drones as if they were their actual comrades – we are seeing that language used by some Russian bloggers,” he said. “So, if your drone is talking to you as if it is human, and then is lost, that can potentially add a psychological trauma for operators,” Bendett said.

Read the full story and more from C4ISRNET.