Automotive
The Voice of the Car Summit is the event of the year for how voice-first technology is being implemented in the modern connected car. Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, and SoundHound all presented as part of the original Voice of the Car Summit. In 2020, The Voice of the Car Summit will expand to a full two days, and will include The Voice Garage which will feature a number of actual cars for live demos, as well as selected booths and tabletops.
SoundHound Houndify
Powered by Houndify Our Speech-to-Meaning™ engine delivers unprecedented speed and accuracy, while our Deep Meaning Understanding™ technology allows users to ask multiple questions and filter results all at once. With custom wake words and custom domains, you maintain your brand and you keep your customers. It’s that simple.
Amazon Echo Auto
The Alexa Auto SDK includes core Alexa functionality, such as speech recognition and synthesis, and other capabilities such as streaming media, controlling smart home devices, notifications, weather reports, and tens-of-thousands of custom skills. Additionally, the SDK provides the hooks required to connect to a wake word engine, local media player, local phone, and local navigation system, and the ability to access certain Alexa features and capabilities even when internet connectivity is intermittent or not available.
Android Auto
Android Auto is a simpler way to use your phone in the car. Whether on your phone screen or on your car display, Android Auto was designed with safety and convenience in mind. With larger touch targets, a simplified interface, and your Google Assistant, it’s designed to minimize distraction so you can stay focused on the road.
Apple Car Play
Available on select cars, CarPlay is a smarter, safer way to use your iPhone in the car. CarPlay takes the things you want to do with your iPhone while driving and puts them right on your car’s built-in display. You can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, and listen to music, all in a way that allows you to stay focused on the road. Just connect your iPhone and go.
Believe it or not, voice assistants are more popular and more prevalent in cars than in homes. According to recent data from Voicebot.AI, 77 million adults in the U.S. use voice assistants in the car, compared to 45 million adults using them on in-home smart speakers.
Almost every car from major automakers rolling off the manufacturing line has voice-first technology integrated, from Mercedes-Benz and BMW to Tesla to Chevrolet and Ford.
By Voicebot, DriveTime & Voice of the Car
Twice the Number of U.S. Adults Have Tried In-Car Voice Assistants as Smart Speakers
https://voicebot.ai/2019/01/15/twice-the-number-of-u-s-adults-have-tried-in-car-voice-assistants-as-smart-speakers/
- What are the most common use cases for voice assistant use in the car?
- How do consumers view voice assistants today and do they expect to increase or decrease usage in the future?
- How do age and income demographics impact in-car voice assistant usage?
- What voice assistant providers focus on the car and what services do they offer?
- What devices are bringing voice assistants into the car without the need for infotainment integration?
- What are leading car companies doing today about voice assistant access in the car?
In-Car Voice Adoption Report
https://voicebot.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/in-car_voice_assistant_consumer_adoption_report_2019_voicebot.pdf
- Voice Assistant Use In-Car is Higher Than Smart Speakers
- Half of Car Owners Have Used a Voice Assistant While Driving
- Cars Are One of the Big Three Voice Access Points
Primer on the context of voice: in the car, at home & on the go
https://www.dashbot.io/2019/06/20/primer-on-the-context-of-voice-in-the-car-at-home-on-the-go
- Most smartphones and car natively embed voice assistants
- The penetration of smartphones and car among the population is very high
- Smartphones are following their owner everywhere
- Americans spend in average 54 minutes in their car every day
- Voice was available in cars as early as 2004, 10 years before the first smart speaker
Design better voice interactions with context
https://www.dashbot.io/2019/06/20/design-better-voice-interactions-with-context
The 6 dimensions of context
- Environment
- Connectivity
- Noise
- Distance to microphone
- Hands free or busy
- Eyes on or off the screen
The 3 golden rules for in-car voice design
- Use context to keep it simple
- Take advantage of multimodal
- Offline capabilities are key
A glimpse into the future
- Personalization
- Additional sensors and trackers
- Autonomous vehicles
It is accepted that the type of content people will want to enjoy in the car will have some subtle differences with the type of content people want to enjoy elsewhere, such as in the home or in the office.
The car offers lengthier periods of engagement, with the average commute in major U.S. cities exceeding 40 minutes in length. The car also offers a rare level of consistency, as drivers are obviously making the same drive each and every day. Clearly, cars are of paramount importance to content creators of all kinds, hoping to have their stories and their experiences enjoyed by as many people as possible.
The modern car is connected to the internet, which opens the door for content to be integrated into the driving experience in ways not previously possible. But even more interesting is that the car is emerging as the next big frontier for voice-first technology. Smart speakers have conquered the home, and now they're moving, in different forms, to take over the car and allow for IoT-based continuity to exist between home and vehicle.
The other common refrain is the discussion of autonomous vehicles. While it has become clear the past year or two that autonomous vehicles are a bit further off than we originally thought–the timeframe seems to be within the next five to 10 years–autonomous vehicles will re-shape our patterns as consumers and as human beings over the course of our lifetimes.
What happens as cars get more connected, and as cars become more autonomous? We reclaim more and more of our time.
The result is that the market has greatly expanded for content in the car. The market has grown markedly for podcasts and audiobooks for this reason, but has also grown to encompass new types of interactive content as well.
Three companies stood out at The Voice of the Car Summit as having innovative approaches to providing new types of content in the car, and are worth learning about:
Drivetime
Drivetime is building games for the neglected millions who need interactive entertainment the most - drivers stuck in traffic.
Earplay
Earplay, our mission is to nurture the exciting new medium of interactive audio storytelling on all platforms for a universal eyes-free, hands-free story experience of high quality voice acting, sound effects, and music. With our interactive audio technology you can play stories with your voice, on mobile devices, in the car, and throughout the connected home.
Audioburst
At Audioburst, we’re building the world’s largest library of audio content. Every day, our technology listens to, understands, segments and indexes millions of minutes of audio information from top radio stations and podcasts. By organizing live and prerecorded audio content to make it more easily accessible and discoverable, we aim to power the next generation of listening experiences across web, mobile, IoT and in-car entertainment systems.
Last modified 3yr ago