Nuance’s VoCon speech-recognition and RealSpeak text-to-speech technologies will this month begin to be fitted into European Ford autos. The speech technologies have been integrated into Ford’s Blaupunkt Human Machine Interface system, which allows drivers to control the vehicle’s temperature, navigation, or audio system with a verbal command.
Instead of typing in a destination into a keypad, drivers can say the address out loud. RealSpeak will convert text into high-quality speech to give out navigational directions, including street names, while pressing the push to talk button on the wheel will allow drivers to say the name of the person they want to call. Similar voice commands will change the radio station or CD track.
According to a survey by Maix Market Research, 41.2 % of US, German, and Japanese respondents said they placed calls while driving, and 20% said they read text messages. Three-quarters said they changed the destination in their navigation systems while driving.
