More than half of new automobiles in 2019 will integrate voice recognition, as car manufacturers increasingly seek safer ways for drivers to interact with navigation, music or phone calls, according to an IMS Research report from information and analytics provider IHS.
A total of 55 percent of all new motor vehicle vehicles produced in 2019 will incorporate voice recognition, up from 37 percent in 2012. The increase in voice-recognition units in vehicles will drive revenue to $170 million in 2019, more than double from $81 million in 2011.
With voice recognition, drivers can operate infotainment and other vehicle controls without taking their eyes off the road or their hands off the wheel. Advances in voice-recognition technology will allow drivers to use spoken words to manipulate an increasing number of functions in the future, including controlling the HVAC system, sending text messages and even composing email.
Voice recognition also is becoming a feature that consumers take for granted in their electronic products. And with recognition increasingly widespread in a number of consumer electronics applications, consumers now are expecting the same kind of technology in their vehicles. Users want a seamless interface across all of their devices, including the car.
Voices carry
Voice systems inside vehicles use technologies such as voice recognition, text-to-speech and speech-to-text to enable drivers to control entertainment and navigation systems simply by using their voices.
While all vehicles with voice-recognition capabilities have on-board processing, some also include off-board processing.
One is a call center-type model that dials into an automated call center to process commands or orders. This is the approach used by GM's OnStar or Agero.
In the second model, the command is recorded in the vehicle and sent over Internet protocol to a server, which then processes the command and sends back a response. This system is used in Ford's MyFord Touch.
Vehicles feel the touch
Following the lead of smartphones that utilize touch-screen technology, the availability of touch screens in vehicles also will grow at a rapid rate during the next seven years, reaching 35.7 million units by 2019, up from 5.8 million units in 2011. Touch-screen revenue is forecast to reach $1.3 billion by 2019, up from $2.6 million in 2011.
Resistive-type touch screens now account for nearly all the market. However, by 2016 and 2017, capacitive touch screens will become more common in North America, with resistive technology going into decline. This same trend will occur two or three years later for South America, Eastern Europe and the rest of the world.
Asia-Pacific will see largest growth when compared to other major regions, with approximately 17.9 million automotive touch screens being sold in 2019, IHS believes. The shift from resistive to capacitive touch screens will happen more quickly in Asia-Pacific than in the other regions, with 1.2 million units of capacitive screens forecast to be sold in 2014, compared to 0.9 million resistive screens the same year in Asia-Pacific.
While users may be comfortable with touch screens in smartphones, these systems in vehicles cannot be operated in the same manner as a smartphone. Instead, they will have a much more safety-centric user interface.
At the same time, vehicle manufacturers do not want to limit the dynamic features and functions on such touch screens, so this is where voice recognition will come into play, allowing motorists to link the user experience of dynamic functionality and content with the touch screen, but in a safe way.
Read More >> Automotive Infotainment and Telematics
