Future Technology of Car Entertainment

Between the mobile phone, mobile browser, the MP3 player, or even knowing all the multimedia unit to the dashboard of our cars to more and more trends to look like a Boeing cockpit. Use all these different devices is not likely there to disturb the concentration of the driver? Yes to a certain extent and not in another, because technology has made real progress to facilitate the use of these devices with voice commands. Our meeting with Nuance was an opportunity for us to take stock of this technology.

Speak, the device obeys!

Back before all from the introduction! The question now arises: is too much to handle device is not likely he not make the driver unaware of his conduct. The recommendations of the manufacturers of GPS (program the unit off), the law with the prohibition of phone while driving, do not seem to suffice: many studies have shown. Should we then ban the use of all its high-tech devices in the car? Obviously not: a driver who is guided by his GPS is ten times less dangerous than a driver that reads a card on the knees. As for telephony, it is indeed a scourge Driving (hence our choice of photo opening), then there are solutions to telephone efficiently and drive on. Today, many devices are equipped with Nuance, to make more use of reassuring its aircraft. But who is Shade? Most of us have a device with Nuance technology, and few people know.

Nuance is a U.S. company based in Boston, employing about 6,000 people, including 600 in Europe. Nuance specializes in speech processing. Initially, Nuance was working in the medical and call centers for the professional field, but also in dictation software for PC with Dragon, then quickly look at the world of cars with GPS, radios multimedia and mobile phones and handsfree kits. In fact, unknowingly used the technology long Nuance: Voice Command on the GSM speech on GPS, Nuance's team that most of these devices. Numerous studies carried out jointly by Nuance and universities around the world show that playing the keys on a touch screen navigator, phone while driving (phone to ear), very dangerously disruptive conduct: failure to anticipate facing a braking emergency zigzag trend ... In short, the situations that can lead to tragedy is to say the car accident. Nuance has significantly improve voice synthesis and the order to equip stations multimedia, GPS and handsfree kits. If the voice command is not totally new, it has made enormous progress in recent years: no need to learn the track, many more features controllable way. Fiat, BMW, Ford, Citroen, ..., many automakers use a Nuance voice command.

The new BMW 5 Series GT has a very accomplished voice command

At this roundtable Nuance, BMW 5 Series had the GT with a multimedia system very accomplished. A voice command is engaged by simply pressing a button on the steering wheel. This control allows track browsing, telephony and even search for song. When you activate the voice command, a synthetic route request that is desired. Just answer (search music for example), then the radio will offer you to choose by artist, album, ... Just then the radio address that he put in play the song you want, without have hands off the wheel and without leaving the road to eyes. The system allows to program a destination into the browser, to find a contact in the phonebook and call. The system can manage through more than 120 functions of the car: a beautiful performance, and the best solution in terms of ergonomics. It has been clearly demonstrated by numerous studies, that using such a system, the driver is more focused and more attentive to his behavior. This voice command is not restricted to the vehicles more upscale, Nuance offers this from 200 euros on the Fiat. But voice control is also increasingly present in our portable navigators.

The Z205 from Becker has a single voice command to input

Nuance speech technology is featured on many mobile browsers (Garmin, TomTom, Becker, ...). It begins with the speech guide this long, then by the Text-To-Speech appeared more recently. This clearly states the names of streets when the GPS said "turn right at 100 m in the St. Michel. It seems stupid like that, having tested for multiple browsers benefiting from Text-To-Speech, it looks less and less screen and remains vigilant in its conduct. The Z205 from Becker has a voice command in a command line. Clearly, we no longer need to dissect the address, it gives directly the full address: 5 rue des Fleurs Paris. The device looks in its database and asks you to confirm by way of course the selected address. When stopped, it is not necessary, but if you must change the destination fast driving, then this is really great. A specific example? You have asked your browser to take you to an underground car park in Paris. Once there, bad luck it is full. Rather than playing the keys on the touch screen while driving (which inevitably means a lack of driver attention), you ask him orally lead you in another car. To use full agglomeration is really great. TomTom also offers this type of function on its latest GO 950 Live. The Nuance voice command is also found in many hands-free kits for mobile Parrot car.

Car radios and Parrot handsfree kits use the voice command

The man of today needs to remain permanently connected. The mobile phone is probably the electronic device which can not happen. Despite the proven violations and the danger is staggering the number of people who lead a mobile glued to his ear. If for the moment (unlike Spain), France still tolerates the atria, this does not solve the problem. First, man is made to hear with both ears. One ear plugged by the headset causes a certain imbalance, poorer perception of noise is detrimental to driving. In addition, the headset lets just take a call, but to call a contact, it requires handling the phone. It therefore falls within the scope of the prohibition and danger. While there are many genuine hands-free kits for phone safely. These kits hands-free kit (to discuss the best known brand) are independent and mounted in any car, built in radio. Many brands such as Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer, ..., use a hands-free kit Parrot. The advantages of such a system are enormous. Because they operate in the mobile phone with Bluetooth, you do not need to touch it, it stays in the pocket. A microphone mounted on the ceiling of the car can talk, while the speaker is being broadcast by the loudspeakers of the car. It thus remains well with both ears free to hear traffic noise and others. Second, most of its hands-free kits download the phonebook in their guts. With voice control, you can choose to call a contact while staying focused on driving without having to perform manipulations.

Conclusion:

If the use of electronic system (GPS, GSM, MP3, ...) while driving, continues to animate the debates, we can not deny the interest, comfort and even safety they provide. For example, there is ample evidence that a driver is being guided by his GPS is much less stressful driving, and therefore more able to drive properly or to anticipate. The scourge would rather the phone while driving, and worse SMS and social networks such as MSN and others. Far from us the willingness to criticize the network type Face Book, but the minute I write this, there is evidence that 1.5% of phone users type a text message or another on their Smartphone while driving. No need to do a drawing on the dangerousness of it. Nuance therefore continues to work to improve the voice command, but also to provide new services. In terms of improvement, Nuance works mainly on language, so that we can use natural language as if speaking to a human being. For now, the machines do know that a number of words, sentence simplified.

The purpose of the voice command is to minimize the gesture to stay focused on driving

But words, voice commands will use a more natural language. The other axis to search for text messages and emails. Clearly, in the future, a multimedia station will be able to read orally SMS or e-mail received in your Smartphone. You can then respond by voice, the system will type automatically send SMS to your friend. Also in the future, we should be able to search the Net by voice control (yellow pages, Google, ...). Some cars like BMW offer Internet in their entertainment system. This function is used only stopped, but in the future, the voice command should bring new services to motorists. It is obviously that Nuance Voice Control is a technology of the future, and it will spread across multiple devices. We will have the chance to talk in more detail with some products that are already equipped.