PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Sept. 30, 2025) – Voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple’s Siri are everywhere, managing calendars, controlling appliances, and answering quick questions. In the U.S., about 153.5 million people are expected to use these technologies in 2025. Despite their convenience, many users encounter barriers — from children and people who are deaf or hard of hearing to those whose speech patterns are not well understood by current systems.
Na Li, Ph.D.
To address these issues, Dr. Na Li, a professor in the Computer Science Department at Prairie View A&M University, has secured a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Her project focuses on creating new algorithms and practical tools that strengthen the reliability of voice interactions in smart home environments.
The research will combine technical development with user testing to reduce recognition errors, improve accessibility, and build more precise parental control features. With 1.5 billion people worldwide experiencing hearing loss and the global voice assistant market projected to reach billions of dollars in value, the need for safer and more adaptable systems is growing rapidly.
By tackling these challenges, Dr. Li’s work has the potential to make smart home technologies more dependable in daily life, ensuring that more people can take full advantage of the benefits voice-controlled devices provide.
A modified version of this story was initially published at pvamu.edu/research.
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