Suppliers leverage voice technologies for in-vehicle computer platform

Automotive Industries, Feb, 1998 by Norman Martin

Soon drivers am change the radio, dial the phone and after doe temperature controls without taking their hands off the wheel.

It's a good bet Eric Lang wished his Soapbox Derby look-a-like vehicle had a gas pedal so he could say a hearty farewell and leave Microsoft mogul Bill Gates standing alone on the Las Vegas Hilton's stage. Things were not going well for the group Program manager for Microsoft Windows CE as he tried to get his AutoPC demo in gear

Under banks of glistening lights, a worldwide TV audience tuning into the highlight of the massive Consumer Electronics Show waited expectantly as Lang repeated, repeated and repeated the voice cue that drives the new company's voice recognition system. All the while Gates watched over his shoulder

"Radio," he said, the stress showing in his voice. "Raaadiooo," he said again, distinctly, separating each syllable, willing the system to work. Finally, the computer cashed in, instantly bringing up the radio controls to the small LCD screen. This new voice recognition system is one of Microsoft's inroads Into the auto industry Regardless of the on-stage glitches, it promises to offer safe, instant, hands-free access to all controls without ever taking one's eyes off the road.

The real question now is how best to bring voice recognition -- and at what cost -- to the noisy, cluttered vehicle environment Microsoft's unit from Belgian-based Lernout & Hauspie (L&M Speech Products with hardware support from Hitachi SH-3 processors recognizes more than 200 simple voice commands. And with its text-to-speech application, the new AutoPC (see AI, Dee '98, p 47) can provide status information and assistance, such as turn-by-turn directions or e-mail alerts, through "speech synthesis" and text information presented on the unit's display. (A just announced Clarion AutoPC system with L&H voice recognition is priced at $1,300.) Microsoft's prototype AutoPC unit has to be continually prompted, since it basically turns itself off after each command in order to avoid getting confused in the sound clutter.

Another advanced voice recognition for automotive applications comes from Visteon's Electronics Systems Division, part of the Ford Motor Co. With a 30,000 word database, its Voice Activated Control System recognizes "natural language" commands in a continuously spoken stream. There isn't a need to memorize a set of commands or pause between words to operate voice-activated controls.

For drivers, that provides hands-free operation of cellular phones as well as audio and climate control. "You just think about what you want to control, and you say it," says Michael Bryars, supervisor of speech products and technology at Visteon in Dearborn, Mich. "For instance, `CD play disc three, track seven.'"

The push for voice recognition technology has not come from automotive. It's been led by business. The long-sought goal of speaking directly to computers rather than typing commands into keyboards is making progress. "There's no reason people should be putting information into computers one letter at a time with keyboards if they can do it through words and sentences with voice recognition," says John Oberteuffer, president of Voice Information Associates, an industry research group.

That doesn't mean there hasn't been deep auto interest. Engineers at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler-Benz Aerospace 'have been working on a speech recognition systems for years. In the U.S., Visteon began development of speech technology in the mid-'80s, and in '92 introduced voice-activated cell phones trained by the driver to assign a voice tag to a phone number.

Today's Visteon software-dependent system, which operates on off-the-shelf silicon, is speaker independent, meaning it performs over a range of voices. Moreover, it doesn't require the user to train the system to his or her voice. Visteon says its voice system recognizes "natural language" commands and performs across a wide-range of voices, languages and dialects, including English, German, Japanese, French and Italian. Looking ahead, other functions that could be voice-controlled include mirrors, windows, interior lighting, releases and even setting the clock Visteon says first production units will be seen on a MY '99 vehicle, and there is some consideration of selling the system into the aftermarket.

"Our voice-activation technology allows drivers to do what they're supposed to do -- drive," says Visteon President Charlie Szuluk. Of course, for those nostalgic for the feel of a tuner knob, the system still allows manual operation, old-fashioned as it is.