Lernout & Hauspie's Technology Speech-Enables Delphi Delco Electronics Systems Mobile Multimedia System for Vehicles - Lernout & Hauspie's ASR 1600 automatic speech recognition system for automobile electronics - Product Information

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Oct 11, 1999

Lernout & Hauspie (L&H) Tuesday announced that its technology will speech-enable Delphi Delco Electronic Systems' mobile multi-media subsystem for vehicles allowing drivers to use their voice to control devices such as radio or CD players, hands-free cell phones, and navigation and climate control systems. The contract adds to the growing list of automotive system manufacturers that speech-enable devices with L&H technology and validates L&H's commitment to speech as a major enabling technology for the automotive market.

The Delphi Delco multi-media system will employ L&H's Automatic Speech Recognition ASR 1600 engine in multiple languages to support hands-free control of a variety of car devices. The ASR1600 is a speech recognition engine that offers a natural, intuitive voice interface. This state-of-the-art technology will eliminate the need to manually control many dashboard level instruments, fostering safer driving by allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

"The natural, intuitive interface provided by speech technology is ideal for a wide variety of consumer devices, particularly automobiles" said Patrick de Schrijver, president of L&H's Technologies & Solutions Division "Speech eliminates the need to manually control dials, knobs, buttons and keys and lets the operator concentrate on driving. We believe automotive manufacturers and end users are eager to employ speech technology and we see an important market opportunity going forward."

Delphi will use the L&H ASR 1600 to manufacture its multimedia system to support US English, UK English, German, European French, European Spanish and Japanese languages.

L&H Speech Technologies L&H's core technologies are not only integrated into automotive industry applications but also into its own diverse product offerings and a wide range of products developed by some of the world's best-known companies in the telecommunications, computer/multimedia and consumer electronics industries.

L&H offers a full complement of speech and language solutions, including application development expertise, TTS technology, digital speech compression and a family of vocabulary recognizers, ranging from its small footprint, small vocabulary engines to its new large vocabulary engine. Its solutions and technologies are available on multiple platforms in multiple languages.

Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is a world leader in automotive component and systems technology. Delphi's three business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communications -- provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has approximately 201,000 employees and operates 168 wholly owned manufacturing sites, 38 joint ventures, 51 customer centers and sales offices, and 28 technical centers in 37 countries. Regional headquarters are located in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Delphi can be found on the Internet at http://www.delphiauto.com.

Lernout & Hauspie (L&H) is a global leader in advanced speech and language solutions not only for automobiles but also for vertical markets, computers, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods and the Internet. The company is making the speech user interface (SUI) the keystone of simple, convenient interaction between humans and technology, and is using advanced translation technology to break down language barriers. The company provides a wide range of offerings, including: customized solutions for corporations; core speech technologies marketed to OEMs; end user and retail applications for continuous speech products in horizontal and vertical markets; and document creation, human and machine translation services, Internet translation offerings, and linguistic tools. L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), digital speech and music compression (SMC) and text-to-text (translation). FMI: www.lhs.com or www.lhsl.com.