Nuance is a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world.

In the match-up of man vs. machine, Perry McCarthy, also known as "the Stig" took his chances against a contestant who was able to use speech recognition to conduct a number of device-related tasks while driving a Formula One simulator around the twisty Monaco street circuit. Speed was not the critical measurement in this competition, but rather minimizing distraction and ensuring safety by allowing the "driver" to keep his hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

Each driver received a text message with instructions to access and play a specific song. Drivers received their assignments using a Nokia 5500, one with, and one without, speech applications installed. While McCarthy needed to take his eyes off the road to read the incoming text message, the driver with Nuance(R) speech solutions on his phone continued to drive safely on the course while the incoming message was read aloud to him. McCarthy was then forced to navigate his iPod manually to find and play the requested song, while the Nuance driver was able to simply say the name of the song he needed to play.

Due to the number of times he was forced to take his eyes and hands away from the simulated driving environment, McCarthy crashed 27 times, while the Nuance driver finished the course without any mishaps.