Seconds,
Don't know if this was ever posted. It is from an article back in March. It looks as though SM may have been telegraphing things to come. I highlighted some areas that caught my eye.
Take care,
Kurt
wirelessweek.com
Speech Recognition Fuels Car Apps
By Peggy Albright
SAN FRANCISCO--Speech recognition will be the killer application for in-car computing, but numerous technical barriers must be surpassed before the market will readily accept speech-enabled in-vehicle information products, according to SRI
Consulting.
"This is all technology looking for a market right now," said David Benson, a senior consultant at SRI Consulting, in remarks
prepared for presentation at the GPS-Wireless '99 conference, hosted last week by Global Technology Communications in San
Francisco.
In-vehicle computing technologies already offer a realm of Internet-based applications, such as route guidance, e-mail,
emergency notification services, personal security features and vehicle diagnostics, while incorporating wireless phones.
The need to ensure driver safety while a customer uses mobile information technologies will be the catalyst in the development
of speech-operated systems, Benson said. The need for safety also will shift dashboard designs away from conventional
equipment displays to speech-based user interfaces as early as next year.
SRI considers currently available on-board speech recognition-based in-vehicle computing technologies as still too immature to
find enthusiastic acceptance in the marketplace.
Broad consumer acceptance of such systems will require that product developers move beyond current technical hurdles, such
as vocabulary limitations and in-vehicle noise tolerance levels. Among other needs, the systems must work with more than one
speaker, to handle continuous speech and include backup manual operation. Without such capabilities, the on-board speech-based
devices are more valuable as product differentiators than as must-have in-vehicle tools.
Such ITS in-vehicle information applications will benefit from the market penetration of "off-board" speech-enabled
products--such as those available or in development by General Magic Inc., Motorola Inc., Nuance, Webley Systems Inc. and
Wildfire Communications Inc.--that Benson thinks already push the envelope.
"The more people are attracted to this in their everyday lives, the more it becomes easier to bring this into the car," he said.
How such systems are adapted into the car is still up for debate.
"Should the speech system be in the dashboard or should it be [accessed by] your personal digital assistant or phone connected to
a big server somewhere?" he asked. "It's too early to call."
Benson suggests customer interest in the ability to operate a system in multiple locations, such home, office and car, may favor
use of portable solutions developed in the consumer electronics and information processing industries. Also, the intelligent
transportation system data bus standard, which can be installed on a vehicle to permit "plug-and-play" of a variety of devices,
will benefit the development of off-board and aftermarket alternatives. Yet the automotive industry will favor on-board
systems, he said.
Asked what role he thinks speech-enabled technologies will have on in-vehicle computing, Steve Markman, president and CEO
of General Magic, cited safety as well as productivity as two key applications in which speech will be very important. Those
uses will lead to many different types of in-car applications. He expects to see a number of aftermarket product developers
introducing new solutions by the end of this year.
Product offerings he expects to see will include those that have built-in voice-recognition capability as well as services such as
his company's virtual assistant, called Portico, that would be made available conveniently in the car.
General Magic, in collaboration with Microsoft Corp., demonstrated the use of Portico to access Windows CE-based Auto PCs
earlier this year, and the two companies are developing related technologies and services. |
