Advanced Recognition Equips Siemens' Showcar Cockpit Design
17 September 1999
Advanced Recognition Technologies Equips Siemens' ``Spirit'' Showcar Cockpit Design with smARTcar Solution at Frankfurt Auto Show
FRANKFURT, Germany--Sept. 16, 1999--Automate Autos of the New Millennium
Auto enthusiasts worldwide will get their first glimpse at how voice and handwriting recognition technologies will revolutionize the way they interact with and operate their automobiles' CD players, navigation systems and other components in the new millennium at the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany, Sept. 16-26, 1999.
Under a recently signed agreement between Advanced Recognition Technologies(TM) (ART) in Israel and Siemens Automotive in France, smARTcar(TM), an innovative voice and handwriting recognition software solution developed by ART, will be demonstrated at the Siemens booth in its "Spirit" Showcar cockpit design installed in a Mercedes SLK Series automobile.
The Spirit Showcar houses an entire network of global communications and information access such as e-mail, Internet and navigation applications, along with high-end multimedia components such as CD and DVD players and a videophone.
In most cases, a multitude of buttons, knobs and switches would accompany all these components, creating confusion, distractions and ultimately unsafe conditions for the driver, passengers and other cars and pedestrians on the road.
But with ART's smARTcar voice and handwriting recognition solution, utilizing ART's award-winning technologies, smARTspeak(R) and smARTwriter(R), drivers can operate and control all these devices interactively using their own voice and handwriting while maintaining a safe driving environment.
"Safety becomes a big concern as these multimedia components steer the driver's attention away from the road and onto the controls," stated Richard C. McCaskill, executive vice president of worldwide sales & marketing at ART. "The smARTcar solution alleviates this by providing an interface to these components with voice and handwriting recognition that does not require the driver to concentrate on anything else but the road."
McCaskill added, "We are very pleased to be working with an industry leader like Siemens to market this next-generation solution to the automotive industry."
smARTcar Puts Drivers on the "Write" Track
A small, strategically placed touchpad located in the center of the steering wheel of Siemens' Spirit Showcar enables the driver to use handwritten characters, numbers and gestures to perform a variety of tasks while keeping his or her eyes on the road; smARTcar conducts the recognition process immediately and automates the commands.
Search for cities and streets on the GPS navigation system by blindly writing the name of a city or street on the touchpad with your fingertip, and the system automatically conducts a search for the desired location. Writing digits of a phone number on the touchpad will automatically dial the person or location you are calling. Upward, downward and sideways strokes provide effortless navigation through the multiple-selection menu on the in-car network.
smARTcar also supports Western European languages, such as French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
smARTcar Says It All
Simple voice commands can automate the two most distracting activities conducted while driving -- dialing the phone and changing the stations on the radio. smARTcar's voice dialing feature provides hands-free dialing, supporting many government initiatives worldwide that require hands-free usage of cell phones while driving. Drivers can tell the cell phone installed in Siemens' Spirit Showcar whom to call, putting you in touch quickly and safely.
Frequently called contacts can automatically be dialed by saying the name or location you wish to call without having to look at the keypad. Simply stating "Home" or any other trained name or location will automatically dial the phone number programmed for that particular voice link. Changing radio stations with voice commands works the same way. Train smARTcar to recognize commands such as "Jazz," "Rock 'n' Roll" or your favorite radio stations' call letters to tune in without tuning out driving responsibilities.
Drivers can hop into Siemens' Spirit Showcar and experience smARTcar at the Frankfurt Auto Show, being held at the Frankfurt am Main Exhibition Centre, Sept. 16-26, 1999. Siemens is located in Hall 4.1, Stand Nos. A09, 10 and B09.
The smARTcar Data Sheet in PDF Format (requires Acrobat Reader 3.0 or higher) and more information about ART and ART products can be found at www.artrecognition.com. For information about licensing smARTcar, contact ART by e-mail at sales@artcomp.com or by calling 888/762-7845 for U.S. and Asia-Pacific sales, or 972-3-642-7242, ext. 113, in Israel for European sales.
About ART
Advanced Recognition Technologies Inc. (ART) develops and markets innovative, technologically superior products for the control of cellular phones, computer applications and electronic devices in response to the spoken human voice or naturally handwritten letters or symbols. ART is based in Southern California, with an R&D subsidiary in Tel Aviv, Israel, and sales offices in the United States, Israel, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
ART licenses its voice and handwriting recognition technologies to industry leaders such as Philips, Casio, LGIC, IBM, Samsung, Lucent/Optimay, Harris Corporation and NeoPoint Inc. Over 10 million wireless phones with ART's smARTspeak Voice Activated Dialing feature have shipped worldwide.
The company was recently recognized by Deloitte & Touche's "Los Angeles Technology Fast 50" program. This program ranks ART as one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in Los Angeles, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. The company can be reached at www.artrecognition.com
About Siemens
Siemens Automotive Systems Group is a tier-one supplier of automotive electrical-electronic components and systems, with a sales volume in 1997/98 totaling $3.3 billion. To maintain its leadership as a global supplier of automotive fuel injection systems, Siemens Automotive reinvests as much as 10 percent of sales in research and development annually.
Siemens Automotive Systems Group is part of Siemens AG, one of the largest electrical-electronic engineering companies in the world. Generating sales of more than $66 billion in 1997/98, Siemens AG employs some 416,000 people worldwide.
