Motor Authority - blog Tag: Voice

Space movies, futuristic cars and even cartoons have all touted the glories of voice command systems, but those that have dealt with the majority of present-day technology understand its limiting and often frustrating nature. But BMW hopes to have overcome those hurdles with its latest system, which it will be rolling out to all of its models starting later this year.

Unlike other units that step the driver's input through a series of painfully long and intricate treed menus, BMW claims that with the new voice command interface, one single voice command is sufficient to completely transmit the driver’s destination into the navigation... Space movies, futuristic cars and even cartoons have all touted the glories of voice command systems, but those that have dealt with the majority of present-day technology understand its limiting and often frustrating nature. But BMW hopes to have overcome those hurdles with its latest system, which it will be rolling out to all of its models starting later this year. Unlike other units that step the driver's input through a series of painfully long and intricate treed menus, BMW claims that with the new voice command interface, one single voice command is sufficient to completely transmit the driver’s destination into the navigation system. The driver’s verbal statement specifying the place, street and number is processed immediately by the system, all data going directly into the navigation unit. The system also interfaces with the music system, allowing the user to access not just the audio source but also to choose individual music titles with voice alone. Of course, as with all voice recognition systems, accuracy and speed will be the key to making it more useful than touch-entry. BMW thinks it has gotten the package right on these accounts, saying in a statement, "The BMW system monitors and interprets the user’s voice commands regarding the type of music, the name of the artist, an album or an individual title, ensuring precise access to the audio program desired." Those who already have BMWs may be wondering how this is an advance over the system introduced in 2006, which allows full word destinations to be spoken. The primary difference is the removal of computer-guided steps in destination entry; instead, the car just listens to the full destination and sorts out place, street and number on its own. That speeds things up and makes it easier to keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. Music functionality will be upgraded further in early 2010, when BMW will add the ability to interface not just with the car's built-in media library, but external media players as well. In the end, this is really just a further complication of the already frightfully complex iDrive system. In a way, however, it is also a simplification - the input process is streamlined and dealing with the guided menus is no longer a must. So on the whole, iDrive fans should appreciate the extra functionality, while those not so impressed with the complex system will welcome the improved ease of use. To see the system in action, check out the official video below.BMW voice command systemBMW full-phrase voice technology in action Read More

Jim Morrisson sang what may have been the best driving advice in rock and roll history in the quintessential "Roadhouse Blues": Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. While that advice may have been aimed at keeping a half-potted rocker between the lines, it's equally apposite in daily life. Ford today revealed a study backing up that assertion with evidence that voice-command systems reduce driver distraction.

Things as simple as having the car's computer read an incoming text-message rather than the driver reading it can have a huge impact, according to the study. The time a driver's eyes spend off the road to read a... Jim Morrisson sang what may have been the best driving advice in rock and roll history in the quintessential "Roadhouse Blues": Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. While that advice may have been aimed at keeping a half-potted rocker between the lines, it's equally apposite in daily life. Ford today revealed a study backing up that assertion with evidence that voice-command systems reduce driver distraction. Things as simple as having the car's computer read an incoming text-message rather than the driver reading it can have a huge impact, according to the study. The time a driver's eyes spend off the road to read a text message on a hand-held phone: 11 seconds. Listening to the same text message requires just 2 seconds of inattention. Today's in-depth navigation and entertainment systems add a lot of value to the in-car experience. But in many cases the level of complexity has risen so high that they are actually a detriment to safety, as drivers focus on navigating context menus rather than the city traffic that surrounds them. To make things safer, companies began introducing voice command systems, but until recently such systems have been inconvenient and laborious to use, thanks to fixed commands and limited functionality. With the advent of more advanced speech recognition software and more integrated applications, such as Ford's SYNC, Mercedes-Benz's COMAND or Lexus' new Enform, the intent is to keep the driver's eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and concentration focused. "Our SYNC research backs up what most of us instinctively know -- that it is better while driving to place a call using a voice interface than dialing manually, because you can keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road," says Susan Cischke, Ford's group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. Ford's data shows that drivers meandered over lane boundaries in at least 30% of cases where hand-held devises were used, as opposed to 0% when using SYNC voice commands to do the same things. "These real-world results indicate that SYNC's voice-interface offers substantial advantages compared to using a hand-held device to do the same task," says Dr. Louis Tijerina, Ford senior technical specialist. As self-serving as the study may seem, the findings coincide with a Virginia Tech and U.S. DOT study that involved 109 drivers and 42,300 hours on the road - over 2 million miles behind the wheel. The study found that using a hand-held device as 2.8 times more dangerous than normal driving, but that holding a conversation on the road was no more dangerous. The findings are good news for SYNC buyers, or for buyers of cars with similar systems. It's also a testament to the double-edge nature of technological progress: some advances bring greater safety, while others bring greater risks. Another example of technology being used to rein in other technology include the DriveAssist phone service, which keeps drivers from texting at the wheel. Read More

Advanced multimedia systems are becoming increasingly central to daily life with modern cars. Especially at the luxury end of the segment, where BMW's iDrive, Mercedes-Benz's COMAND, Lexus's new haptic system with Enform and Audi's MMI all compete for top honors. The latest iteration of Audi's MMI system is now headed to the U.S., and it will make its retail debut in the new Q5.

Like Lexus's haptic interface system and BMW's iDrive, Audi's Generation 3 MMI uses a joystick-like remote input device. The idea seems to be that by placing the control mechanism within easy reach of the driver, the screen itself can be moved closer to the line of... Advanced multimedia systems are becoming increasingly central to daily life with modern cars. Especially at the luxury end of the segment, where BMW's iDrive, Mercedes-Benz's COMAND, Lexus's new haptic system with Enform and Audi's MMI all compete for top honors. The latest iteration of Audi's MMI system is now headed to the U.S., and it will make its retail debut in the new Q5. Like Lexus's haptic interface system and BMW's iDrive, Audi's Generation 3 MMI uses a joystick-like remote input device. The idea seems to be that by placing the control mechanism within easy reach of the driver, the screen itself can be moved closer to the line of sight out the window, improving both the interface and safety of operation. Other new features in the third-gen MMI system include real time traffic information, new 3D map displays, giving perspective to the images on the navigation screen, helping drivers orient their current location and understand what's ahead. Voice input for destinations can be done with whole words rather than spelling out letters as in previous MMI installations, with 'a number of languages' supported. The music and entertainment system is upgraded as well, allowing playback of DVDs with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, MP3, WMA and AAC format CDs and SD cards, plus Audi's Music Interface application for integrating Apple's iPod into the Audi MMI display. The display itself gets upgraded as well, the 7in TFT unit displaying 800x480 pixels with bright backlighting and strong contrast to help keep from washing out in bright sunlight. Up to 10gb of storage space on the internal 40gb hard drive can be used for music storage. All of the computing is handled by a pair of processors - one 800MHz unit for general processing and a 500MHz digital signal processor. This duo enables all of the MMI systems functionality to operate simultaneously - meaning one could, in theory at least, make a call, use voice input for the navigation system and play music all at once. Finally, a 3D graphics processor from nVidia enables the true 3D display of the nav system and accelerates it to ensure rapid, smooth performance. The all-new Q5 will be coming to the U.S. in March, with the Generation 3 MMI system as an optional add-on. Pricing and further details will likely come with the car's retail debut.Audi Q5Audi Generation 3 MMI Read More

Hyundai will soon be joining the likes of Ford and Fiat by offering a new music and information interface developed jointly with software giant Microsoft. To enable that collaboration, the two companies have announced the founding of a dedicated Automotive IT Innovation Centre (AIIC) with the aid of Korea’s Institute for IT Advancement.

Located within Hyundai-Kia's research facilities in Seoul, the AIIC's goal will be to develop new technology such as auto telecommunication, telematics, navigation systems and Location Based Service (LBS), and improving Human Machine Interface (HMI) - the latter being one of the first projects... Hyundai will soon be joining the likes of Ford and Fiat by offering a new music and information interface developed jointly with software giant Microsoft. To enable that collaboration, the two companies have announced the founding of a dedicated Automotive IT Innovation Centre (AIIC) with the aid of Korea’s Institute for IT Advancement. Located within Hyundai-Kia's research facilities in Seoul, the AIIC's goal will be to develop new technology such as auto telecommunication, telematics, navigation systems and Location Based Service (LBS), and improving Human Machine Interface (HMI) - the latter being one of the first projects undertaken, incorporating voice commands with a mobile media system. The new system will debut initially in Hyundai models in North America around 2010 and will eventually filter across to global markets with Europe and Asia to follow soon after. "Microsoft and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group share a similar vision for the role that information technology will play in connecting people to information, communications, and entertainment while they are in their cars," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. The first product under the partnership will be a voice-activated control system for linking mobile devices such as a cell phone or MP3 player with a vehicle’s stereo. Eventually the new interface will include multimedia and navigation-related features. There could even be an emergency call function similar to current features from rival telematic systems such as GM’s OnStar. Under the deal, Hyundai will be able to use the system in its own branded vehicles as well as Kia models as early as November, however the first systems won’t arrive until the end of the decade as engineers are working on developing more advanced systems. There's no word on which models will be offered with the feature but it will likely be reserved for more upmarket models such as the upcoming Genesis Coupe. Microsoft is also free to license the software to other carmakers, which means we’re likely to read about similar announcements from rival brands in the coming year. Read More