BMW will use new Nuance technology for in-car speech recognition

A new in-car speech recognition software technology will make its way to the facelifted 7 Series, the upcoming 3 Series Touring and the ActiveHybrid 3. Ahead of other automakers, BMW will incorporate Nuance’s new voice command and control platform called the Nuance’s Dragon Drive system. This system is an evolution of current speech recognition software by tapping into the cloud where it makes use of natural language servers that can interpret words and phrases beside their vocabulary meaning. The platform will connect to the cloud via the onboard internet connection or the driver’s phone connection. Currently BMW uses EDGE chips for its data connections, but the company has recently joined Verizon’s 4G Venture Forum for Connected Cars, so faster chips integrated in BMWs are expected in the near future, think along the line of 4G and LTE connections.

BMW will implement Messaging, Dragon Drive’s initial service, which allows drivers to use the speech-to-text capability to dictate and format emails and text messages. Nuance plans to expand their platform beyond messaging into a virtual assistant similar to Apple’s SIRI platform. In a recent announcement, Apple showcased a new update of SIRI that will be integrated into vehicles, including BMWs. Apple licenses natural language understanding technology from Nuance.

BMW ConnectedDrive is expected to announce this new technology in the following days. .

Source: GigaOM