How Multitasking Influences the Usage of a Voice Assistant

Bachelor thesis (2020)

Authors

K.S. Biharie Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Contributors

C. Hauff Web Information Systems - EEMCS (supervisor 1)
N. Tintarev Web Information Systems - EEMCS (supervisor 2)
Faculty
Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
Copyright: © 2020 Kirti Biharie
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Published Date

22-06-2020

Language

English

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Faculty

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Abstract

This paper shows the influence of multitasking on the usage of a voice assistant. Voice assistants allow users to input queries over a speech-only channel, and as a result they do not require the same attention as a traditional search engine. Existing research describes the effects of the use of a voice assistant on driving and other demanding activities, however, there is no research that describes how that demanding activity influences the usage of the voice assistant. To research these effects, three sub questions have been constructed and answered. These tackled three characteristics to describe the usage: the query formulation, the knowledge gain and the user experience. To answer these questions a user study was conducted where the participants used a voice assistant in three situations. Two of these situations included a distraction in the form of a game. We found that the presence of dual tasking results in shorter queries. We also found that a higher intensity of the session can decrease the knowledge gain.