Browsing some old Reddit threads I saw the one and only reference I've ever come across about voice activated controls. The exact software mentioned is Voice Attack, though I'd assume there are others. There wasn't much detail in the comment and it was quite old.

I don't recall seeing any discussions about this in these forums (my memory is terrible, though) and I can't find anything by searching.

Has anyone tried using voice controls and, if so, how successful has it been?

I'd be interested mostly for airline controls; stuff like getting "after landing" cockpit clean-up without having to come to a full stop on the taxiway to do everything.

https://www.hcsvoicepacks.com/products/aviator?variant=32175690809427

 

You could also look at MCE or Multi Crew Experience. It does the same thing as Voice Attack, but much more. You can use MCE to start your plane, go through the checklists, set flaps, etc. You can also use MCE to interact with ATC via voice instead of pressing menu buttons.

They have a forum right here on Avsim: The Multi-Crew Experience (MCE) Support Forum - The AVSIM Community

You can download a demo version and try it out yourself...

These are great! I can't believe I've never even thought about this stuff, much less seen these options. 

Ya'll are gems, thanks!

I'm a long time user of Voice Attack and it's worth every penny of the US$10 I paid for the lifetime 1.x license (I originally thought it was lifetime but I was mistaken; having said that, I've been getting updates for so many years that if I had to pay another $10 for a 2.x license, it'd be a no-brainer). I wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone who wants to add voice commands to their gaming.

You can add the HCS voice packs on top of Voice Attack if you want (which makes getting things up and running "easier" since most of setup has been taken care of for you) but essentially, if you can imagine it, you can likely do it with Voice Attack.

One big advantage that Voice Attack has over Multi Crew Experience or FS2Crew or others is that those products are specifically for flight sims whereas Voice Attack can be used for anything. Just set up a profile (or download it) for any app or game that you want to add voice commands to.

 

Edited November 7, 20223 yr by Malaromane
Incorrect license info

9 minutes ago, Malaromane said:

One big advantage that Voice Attack has over Multi Crew Experience or FS2Crew or others is that those products are specifically for flight sims whereas Voice Attack can be used for anything. Just set up a profile (or download it) for any app or game that you want to add voice commands to.

 

Fantastic info, and that price is surprisingly low. I'll be looking into it this week, for sure!

I've been using Voice Attack for a while now and wouldn't want to miss it. A very powerful program when you have familiarized yourself with it. In the beginning I used the voice option for the flow and the checklists, i.e. synthetically generated question and voice response. In the meantime, I have developed a concept where button and voice response are combined within a flow. Via mouse click the next step is called up and when it is the turn of the checklists in the flow, with voice response. However, and this is the essential difference to e.g. FS2Crew, without interaction with the buttons on the plane. This is occasionally possible, but for me it is essentially just about a relaxed flow without forgetting anything, switches are built in so that the flow adapts to appropriate conditions, weather, turbine start procedures etc.. , the avoidance of paperwork and since I'm preparing this just a voice attack for the Fenix, also around the integrations of GSXPro and the cabin. This works very well. Voice Attack is a recommendable software. 👍

54 minutes ago, Flusisniper said:

This works very well. Voice Attack is a recommendable software. 👍

Thank you so much for the full review, very helpful!

If you want customization, I’d sincerely recommend MCE. In fact, it’s so good I’m using it to prep for a type ride. 

1 hour ago, V1ROTA7E said:

If you want customization, I’d sincerely recommend MCE. In fact, it’s so good I’m using it to prep for a type ride. 

So does MCE offer more customization compared w/ VoiceAttack? I'm just starting to look into these options in detail, so I haven't quite got a grasp of what each one offers vs drawbacks.

One thing I'm seeing w/ VoiceAttack is it voice packs that are already available for certain planes. I'm not sure if I can take a third party plane and map certain commands to specific controls w/in the cockpit or not. 

38 minutes ago, Dermot McClusky said:

I'm not sure if I can take a third party plane and map certain commands to specific controls w/in the cockpit or not. 

With MCE you can. I’m using the PMDG specific one since I don’t want to get procedures and callouts confused for other planes. It’s enough remembering one plane! With the full version, it works with every plane available for flight sim. Both are neat because you can intuitively set commands, voice activated checklists, and procedures. Though, I’d like it even more if you could click on a button or switch and have the command name pop up when creating a flow, but maybe they’ll implement that later. Or better yet, do the flow by entering an edit mode and it can “record” the flow and save it for the FO to do. Here’s to hope!
 

56 minutes ago, Dermot McClusky said:

One thing I'm seeing w/ VoiceAttack is it voice packs that are already available for certain planes

They have pre recorded voices, but I use a Cereproc voice that uses TTS. It’s not perfect, but it can say anything I type and the voice itself sounds fairly realistic. It’s great because I’ve been creating scripts and flows that my company uses specifically. 

The dev is very active and really listens to feedback. The only drawback is I’d like even more customization for very obscure and nuanced situations that the general public would consider overkill or nitpicky. 

 

I think what hasn't been pointed out so far is that - as far as I know other than VoiceAttack - MCE interacts with the sim both ways. It can read from the sim. If you command to set flaps, MCE will check the speed first. MCE calls out V1 and VR or reaching 10.000 ft. You can ask MCE for the current wind.

And MCE saves you a lot of work to program VoiceAttack commands. Because almost all commands you can think of are already included.

Highly, highly recommend Multi Crew Experience.  Fully customizable, and it's smart - it will verify checklist responses and catch and fix your errors, verify configuration speeds before blindly executing a config change etc. 

I've got all my company's checklists and procedures set in MCE, customized to exactly how we operate the 737.  It does a great job.  If you want to see some examples, you can check a couple stream videos here: 

Twitch.tv/Stearmandriver

Like any voice recognition software, it will occasionally mis-hear something but these events are pretty rare. Also note that what you'll hear on my videos is a TTS voice that I use so he can say all my customized verbiage word-for-word.  MCE does come with the standard Boeing, Airbus, and other manufacturers checklists, and pre-recorded voices for them that sound natural. My guy sounds a little robotic because he's TTS but you don't need to deal with that if you're not completely customizing anything. 

Happy to have found this thread.

I find fs2crew and MCE far too robotic sounding, which I find distracting and has put me off from buying.

Sounds like (pun intended) that Voice Attack is the way forwards for me, maybe with HCS voice packs.

This has all been extremely helpful. Thanks to everyone for the tips!