Visteon Achieves World First With New Jaguar S-Type
20 October 1998
Visteon Achieves World First With New Jaguar S-Type - The 'Listening' CarBIRMINGHAM, England, Oct. 20 -- Visteon has achieved an automotive industry 'world first' by providing the new Jaguar S-Type with voice activation technology -- a major breakthrough in motoring convenience and safety. The Visteon voice activated module enables the driver to control a number of in-car systems, simply by speaking. Drivers can switch to voice activation at any time, by pressing a 'voice' button on the steering wheel. They can then control the audio systems, climate control system and telephone functions, by using simple voice commands. The system is instantaneous and 'speaker independent,' allowing it to recognise a range of voices, with the ability to adapt to different accents and dialects. It also understands continuous and natural patterns of speech, in whichever language it is programmed, so that the user does not have to remember fixed instructions, or artificially pause between words. Importantly, drivers can keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel, focusing their attention on driving rather than operating controls. Visteon's Jaguar Vehicle Line Manager, Huw Davies, said: "Voice activation is breakthrough technology, which will contribute significantly to driver safety. It is fitting that it has been introduced on the Jaguar S-Type, which sets new standards of motoring excellence." "Our involvement in the Jaguar S-Type demonstrates how Visteon can harness its global resources to the benefit of the vehicle manufacturer, by providing a very wide range of systems engineering technology and expertise," said Davis. As a result of its work on the S-Type and other Jaguar programmes, Visteon has established a highly successful partnership with Jaguar. Visteon engineers have been co-located with Jaguar from the start of the development process. A nine strong Visteon team is split between the Jaguar Engineering Centre at Whitley, Coventry, and Jaguar's Castle Bromwich factory, where the S-Type will be built. In order to strengthen its links with Jaguar and other UK-based auto manufacturers even further, Visteon is planning to open a new office at Coventry early next year. The organisation has already opened a number of such offices around the world, strategically located close to major vehicle manufacturers. Visteon Automotive Systems, an enterprise of Ford Motor Company , has 82,000 employees located in 21 countries. Visteon has 81 plants, including 32 joint ventures, and 36 sales offices and engineering and technical centres. Visteon's corporate headquarters is located in Dearborn, Michigan.