The 20th century has been a technological marvel. We have advanced more in the 20th century than we have during any other one-hundred year term in recorded history. This is due to a number of reasons. One of which is the early conflicts of the century. World War I and World War II changed the world forever. During these global conflicts, countries developed advanced weapons. They also developed advanced communications and other technologies. The Internet came as a result of the military’s efforts in World War II, and the fear of a nuclear conflict.
Then, during the last decade of the 20th century, the Internet and computers exploded to take control of much of our society. Computers are now everywhere. This is evident in another rapidly advancing industry, and that is the automotive industry. Cars, trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles are rapidly becoming more and more computer driven. The most advanced safety features in a car, such as Anti-lock brakes, Traction Control, Active Stability, and even the air bags are control by shock sensors sent to a computer for analysis. If the computer determines that the impact is severe, it’ll deploy the airbag.
Another advancing technology appearing in cars is voice and speech recognition. Many new cars feature a system called OnStar, which allows voice activated dialing of a cellular phone service. Most new after-market compact disc players that are installed in cars can feature voice control. Systems from Kenwood and others allow you to change tracks, adjust the volume, change the radio station, and eject the CD without having to remove your hands from the steering wheel.
Each of these compact disc units feature a small microprocessor in them and memory to process the driver’s voice that is input into a microphone. After the system has been sufficiently trained, which is when the computer attempts to learn and understand the person’s speech patterns, it will recognize the