ATX Touts Hands-Free Programming of Car Navigation Systems

Drivers Able to Use Telematics to Request Dynamic Content Downloads To Their Vehicle

DETROIT, April 13 -- Manually entering a destination into the many varieties of in-vehicle and portable navigation systems on the market often presents both potential distraction and irritating inconvenience to drivers. Now, drivers can simply speak a destination into a telematics-based, automated voice response system and have the destination directions or other dynamic (continually updated) content downloaded to their vehicle, where they can play them in either an audio or visual format depending on the type of navigation device used.

This integration of continually-updated information, automated in-vehicle voice technology and stand-alone mobile navigation systems is the latest innovation in telematics offered to automakers by ATX Group, the world's second largest telematics service provider to the automotive industry.

Voice automated destination entry is uniquely suited to off-board telematics systems. These systems cannot only keep up with changes - added street names, improved map data, new roads, etc. - but also can correct for existing map data errors. The off-board, high-speed servers offer computing power and databases that overcome limitations of embedded systems, those that are self-contained within the vehicle. Furthermore, real-time traffic information can be used to optimize routes and even estimate the travel time.

"This makes using a vehicle navigation system so much easier. No more body leaning or finger punching or scrolling destination data into a computer. You just press a button and tell the system where you want to go," said Dr. Tom Schalk, ATX vice president of voice systems. "It's particularly helpful to those who often have to learn how to use a new navigation device every time they rent a vehicle or when they purchase or lease a new vehicle. This essentially offers drivers a universal interface."

ATX's proprietary platform for voice-activated destination entry is very distinct from what's been previously attempted in the North American and European markets, leveraging the interactive voice technology developed for hands-free delivery of its traditional location-based telematics services. By monitoring the actual, in-vehicle interfaces between drivers and ATX's voice systems, ATX can continually enhance the quality of the system's capability to interpret driver comments - essentially, self-correcting itself without having to replace hardware in the vehicle or requiring the driver to bring the car into a service center.

Beyond the simple man-machine interface, another key benefit is ATX's information route engine located off-board the vehicle, enabling drivers to rely on high-speed servers and rich content databases to get more up-to-date and real-time information much quicker than what can be accessed from on-board computers. In contrast to navigation systems that rely on on-board compact disks and DVDs whose content becomes quickly outdated, telematics-based navigation content can keep up with changes as they occur without the cost or inconvenience to the vehicle owner of an upgrade in the navigation unit. In addition, the telematics-based system has the built-in flexibility to offer

drivers an interface with either an automated, interactive voice system or a live operator.

"What we want to demonstrate is that telematics can be leveraged for a variety of uses that not only provide greater convenience and greater safety to the driver but help automakers and possibly other fleet operators add value to the navigation systems they've already installed in the vehicle or that they carry into the vehicle," said Ron West, executive vice president of sales and marketing for ATX.

West explained that ATX's ability to adapt its interactive voice technology to the driver-navigation screen interface helps overcome the concern that many vehicle owners harbor toward advanced electronics increasingly being installed in vehicles. ATX's interactive voice response technology was specifically developed to deliver traditional, location-based telematics services into the unique acoustic environment of the vehicle cockpit and can be adapted and enhanced over the lifetime of the vehicle without a visit to the service center. Reliance on adaptive dialogues not only enables the system to be continually enhanced based on actual field experiences of driver-machine interfaces, but also eventually evolves into an application reflecting the individual user's personalized experiences and needs with the system.

Pilot testing conducted by ATX involves interfacing with in-vehicle, navigation-screen systems that can take the destination or point of interest information from ATX and then calculate a route using on-board navigation screen technology, as well as systems that also rely on ATX to provide the actual routing instructions.

ATX's capability to provide the driver with dynamic, off-vehicle content primarily entails access to real-time traffic and road conditions using content aggregated from several content suppliers.

ATX Group serves markets in both North America and Western Europe. The company's telematics services are provided through the two-way communication of voice and data between a subscriber's telematics-equipped automobile and ATX response and data centers.

Based in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area and Dusseldorf, Germany, ATX Group is the world's second largest provider of telematics services for the automobile industry, serving both North America and Europe. ATX telematics services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security and driving convenience to vehicle owners. These services include location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision notification, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics and real-time traffic and navigation assistance. ATX, the largest independent telematics provider not owned by an automobile manufacturer or telecommunications firm, also provides telematics services designed to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships to use telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to vehicle owners through the brand names of its customers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. ATX is an unregistered trademark of ATX Group, Inc.

For more information, visit http://www.atxg.com/ .