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Talking Car

Talking car keeps drivers off unfamiliar turf

March 28, 1996
Web posted at: 4:45 p.m. EST

Okwu

From Correspondent Michael Okwu

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Interactive Voice System is the latest in driver-controlled mapping technology and could keep motorists from finding themselves in unfamiliar territory without a map.

Disk

IVS, a small device that fits in the dashboard or in the trunk, is a voice-activated navigation system that responds to various questions asked by drivers. IVS is activated when the driver puts the navigator CD into the car's CD player or changer.

IVS can give directions to a particular location, guide a driver through an unknown stretch of road and locate a driver's exact position.

"It's 100 percent voice-interactive, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road or hands off the wheel to use it. You just speak into the microphone and then the navigator gives you directions," Paula Finnegan of Amerigon Inc. said.

Finnegan

Finnegan demonstrated the device, showing its clarity and ability to recognize most North American dialects. (162K AIFF sound or 162K WAV sound)

IVS is not the only "talking car" on the market. Many rental companies already offer customers a tracking system called Global Position Satellite or GPS that allows drivers to communicate through a keyboard.

Computer

The makers of IVS are quick to point out that their system is already available commercially in 10 major metropolitan areas and -- at $1,000 per system -- is one-third as expensive as GPS.

More important, they say, it is voice-activated, so it is safer and more convenient. It also makes it more fun; the device also plays blackjack.

More voice-controlled technology is on the way for everyday uses in automobiles.

"You can control the volume of your radio, for example. You can tell the windows to go up and down," Finnegan says.


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