EVERY from time to time, delightful, Kevin Smith-Fagan tries to call a friend of his, Priscilla, using the voice-recognition system in his 2013 Chevrolet Volt.
“I’ve tried it so many times and it never gets nothing,” said Mr. Smith-Fagan, an executive at a ptv station in Sacramento. “It always thinks I’m saying ‘Chris,’ and I have like five people named Chris in my business directory, so it’s always interesting to see who’s getting the call.”
Voice control systems have been in cars for more than a decade, and great strides have been made in the technology’s ability to understand human speech. But many people still find these systems too unreliable, or annoying, to use for more than the most simple tasks, like “Call Mom.”
That isn’t stopping auto and tech companies from trying to give drivers the ability unrest even more things by reprimand their cars — while keeping their eyes on the road and impart the wheel. The efforts have some added urgency now, as states pass stricter laws aimed at curbing distracted driving. Under a California law that went into effect Jan. 1, holding or operating a phone while driving is now prohibited.
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This week at the International CES, the giant electronics conference in Las Vegas, Ford Motor announced that owners of its cars would soon allow use Amazon’s Alexa voice-activated assistant in their vehicles. Drivers will manage ask for a 5-day forecast, stream music from Amazon Music or add appointments to their calendars. They will also manage use Alexa from home to start or unlock their cars remotely.
But the automaker also envisions drivers using Alexa to help with other tasks — like shopping on Amazon. Stuck in traffic? You can manage Valentine’s Day by saying, “Alexa, order flowers on Amazon.”
Other companies are break in the same direction. Apple’s Siri perhaps used to control iPhone functions in cars, and Apple’s CarPlay software allows drivers to dictate text messages while driving, too program destinations into Apple Maps and have the route plotted on the car’s display. Google’s Android Auto commit the same.
In the last year, carmakers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors have also introduced improved voice-recognition systems that can understand normal spoken words for many tasks. Older systems required drivers to learn specific commands.
With newer models, owners can program in a destination just by saying the address, allegedly speaking to another person. In older cars, columbia, city and street need be given separately, exclusive of — and if you were lucky, each was correctly understood.
While more advanced systems like Alexa will make it easier for drivers to use voice commands, there are still hurdles. The biggest is just changing habits, and persuading people to try reprimand their cars.
On the day before Thanksgiving, Frank Krieber bought a 2016 Dodge Challenger, granite gray, with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, and the latest version of the Uconnect infotainment system. A few days later, when he set at times a road trip to Florida from his fixate Michigan, he synced his phone to the car, but didn’t bother to use the voice-recognition capabilities to enter destinations or handle other tasks.
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A Ford presentation at CES in Las Vegas. Credit Sam VarnHagen“I probably should use it, but it’s just easier to put in an address manually, so I haven’t really sample it,” said Mr. Krieber, a sales executive for a computer company. “My experience till has been, when you tell it agitation something, it doesn’t do what you want.”Older cars used voice-recognition systems that were built into the car and had limited computing power and memory. Now that more and more cars have wireless connections, the voice-recognition processing conceivable done via the internet in distant computers and servers, what the tech industry calls the cloud.That is an advantage that Ford sees in using Alexa, said Don Butler, Ford’s executive director for connected vehicle and services. “If you have the voice recognition done outside the car, people will see a much greater ability to interpret normal, everyday speech,” he said.With Alexa, a user will need to download an Alexa app to a phone and carry the phone in the car, creating the connection with the cloud.Ford and Amazon have also developed a way to get Alexa to work seamlessly with a Ford car’s own built-in entertainment and navigation systems. Alexa will first be available in more or less months in battery-powered and hybrid models like the Focus Electric and Fusion Energi, and later in other Ford models.“You can ask Alexa where the nearest Starbucks is, and have her program the address into the Ford navigation system for you,” Mr. Butler said.For Amazon, the collaboration with Ford is another illustration of a broader push by technology giants to push their versions of voice assistants, which are made to perform simple tasks like turning on lights at home, playing music and fetching sports scores from the internet.Apple was an early entrant into the market with its Siri assistant for iPhones. Google has its Assistant and a new connected speaker featuring the voice technology called Google Home. And Samsung, which has announced plans to buy the audio and automobile technology company Harman International Industries, last year agreed to acquire a voice assistant start-up, Viv Labs.https://www.facebook.com/Mondulkirimylive/
“I’ve tried it so many times and it never gets nothing,” said Mr. Smith-Fagan, an executive at a ptv station in Sacramento. “It always thinks I’m saying ‘Chris,’ and I have like five people named Chris in my business directory, so it’s always interesting to see who’s getting the call.”
Voice control systems have been in cars for more than a decade, and great strides have been made in the technology’s ability to understand human speech. But many people still find these systems too unreliable, or annoying, to use for more than the most simple tasks, like “Call Mom.”
That isn’t stopping auto and tech companies from trying to give drivers the ability unrest even more things by reprimand their cars — while keeping their eyes on the road and impart the wheel. The efforts have some added urgency now, as states pass stricter laws aimed at curbing distracted driving. Under a California law that went into effect Jan. 1, holding or operating a phone while driving is now prohibited.
Continue reading the main story
Wheels
A feature on the latest features, trends and technologies in the automobile industry.
Would-Be Carmakers Tap the Wisdom, and Dollars, of Crowds
DEC 29
Automakers Prepare for an America That’s Over the Whole Car Thing
DEC 22
Driving Down Memory Lane in the Original Minivan
DEC 15
Dull Car Finish Now Shines
NOV 24
At the Los Angeles Auto Show, an Industry Ponders Its Digital Future
NOV 17
This week at the International CES, the giant electronics conference in Las Vegas, Ford Motor announced that owners of its cars would soon allow use Amazon’s Alexa voice-activated assistant in their vehicles. Drivers will manage ask for a 5-day forecast, stream music from Amazon Music or add appointments to their calendars. They will also manage use Alexa from home to start or unlock their cars remotely.
But the automaker also envisions drivers using Alexa to help with other tasks — like shopping on Amazon. Stuck in traffic? You can manage Valentine’s Day by saying, “Alexa, order flowers on Amazon.”
Other companies are break in the same direction. Apple’s Siri perhaps used to control iPhone functions in cars, and Apple’s CarPlay software allows drivers to dictate text messages while driving, too program destinations into Apple Maps and have the route plotted on the car’s display. Google’s Android Auto commit the same.
In the last year, carmakers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors have also introduced improved voice-recognition systems that can understand normal spoken words for many tasks. Older systems required drivers to learn specific commands.
With newer models, owners can program in a destination just by saying the address, allegedly speaking to another person. In older cars, columbia, city and street need be given separately, exclusive of — and if you were lucky, each was correctly understood.
While more advanced systems like Alexa will make it easier for drivers to use voice commands, there are still hurdles. The biggest is just changing habits, and persuading people to try reprimand their cars.
On the day before Thanksgiving, Frank Krieber bought a 2016 Dodge Challenger, granite gray, with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, and the latest version of the Uconnect infotainment system. A few days later, when he set at times a road trip to Florida from his fixate Michigan, he synced his phone to the car, but didn’t bother to use the voice-recognition capabilities to enter destinations or handle other tasks.
Photo
