2006 Prius Voice Recognition Problems

the audio prompts will work while driving to add addresses etc.

 

Well I just tried it on my 06.. the touchscreen sequence doesn't work....Has anyone found the secret for the 06?

 

bob... that was what I was talking about..I want to turn up the voice ... I can't get into that screen with my 06.. I printed your instructions and I touched every concievable part of that screen in the order you said... doesn't seem to work.

 

Bob, thanks for the information. So is the purpose of the testing you describe to self-calibrate what speaking volume is optimal? Or is there a way to actually "increase" the input from the mic?

 

Not a Prius tech, but my guess would be that the proverbial "gain" for the microphone input would likely be software-related, not hardware.

Additionally, I would also assume that if it were a software component, it would feature some automatic gain control (AGC) features.

 

thanks Bob.. I know you will post when you find out....

I too guess its software...gain just too low.

 

Of course, we're making a basic assumption here that it matters if the input level is too low for human ears or appears low at a diagnostic screen. The voice recognition may function independently of whatever those readings say. Amplitude is the magnitude of a sound wave or electric signal, usually measured in decibels. It's all a relative measurement. The fidelity of the electric signal should, in theory, be more important than the perceived volume, although there is a direct relationship between the two.

Regardless of the amplitude, compression and rarefaction are still captured as the same frequencies. The question is about the tolerance of the system. How many molecules must be placed in motion such that they can be transduced into an electical signal with enough definition to determine what was spoken into the microphone? More molecules moved generally indicates a greater amplitude. So how "quiet" can a signal become before it loses the fidelity the voice recognition system needs? It's a rhetorical question, but I would venture to guess that our ears are incapable of detecting that sound.

Any audio or electrical engineering types in the house? Is this correct, or am I way off base?

 

Well I realize you are much more of an authority on this subject than me, but my question would be....
Couldn't it still be software?....
If its getting the signal and turning up the signal seems to help? I see a certain amount of "interpretive technology here too by virtue that its "sound voice" technology that must interpret all of our dialects, or slang as well as tone etc... and still be able to decipher it from background noise. I oould be wrong, but working with computers, I find that 99+% of the time, problems are software related.

 

"my car is stuck in reverse!!!"

Then just say the commands backwards and you will be fine.

 

Perhaps the A-D range is software controlled and can be improved. Could be hardware if the gain isn't matched to the A-D converter. A simple "oops" with a resister value on a board could cause this.

Unless the software is accessible for dealer reprogramming, though, the same "swap the hardware" solution may apply.

 

I wonder if I found it?

go to menu... then to volume...then at the bottom you will see a button that is on my default that says "adaptive volume".

If anyone confirms this let me know..... Theres not much about it... that ususally means it was freshly added.....

I don't know if this feature is on the 05 or not?, but its on the 06.

 

...removed...

 

There is also a procedure as follows:
Power up (if not already up),Push display and hold, turn headlights on and off completely, three times.

A display screen will then come up, hit display (on the screen), hit menu, You can also drive with the screen in this mode,