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Visteon Voice Technology Reaches International Markets

1 March 1999

Visteon Voice Technology Reaches International Markets With Foreign Language Capabilities

    DETROIT, March 1 -- Visteon Automotive Systems has scored
another technology first with consumers -- a Japanese-language version of its
world-class Voice Activated Control System.
    Visteon will demonstrate the Japanese version at the Society of Automotive
Engineers International Congress and Exposition, as it prepares to launch
multiple language voice technology to customers around the world.  This year,
it will also introduce its Voice Activated Control System in Spanish, French,
German, and Italian.
    Visteon's industry-leading Voice Activated Control System is the first,
practical, easy-to-use technology for voice control of features ranging from
audio and climate control to e-mail and on-line diagnostics.
    "We are delivering something really remarkable to our customers -- the
next generation of voice activation technology," said Michael Bryars,
supervisor, Speech Products and Technologies for Visteon.  "These developments
-- part of the ongoing evolution of Visteon's voice control system -- are
reaching the marketplace just as voice capability is emerging as a key
ingredient in a host of new automotive technologies.
    "The next step will be a higher level of integration into a wide range of
systems and vehicle components," Bryars added.
    An English language version of the Visteon Voice Activated Control System
providing hands-free control of the audio, climate control and cellular phone
systems is being launched this year on the new Jaguar S Type.  Visteon's voice
technology is also incorporated into the Buick Cielo concept car.
    With Visteon voice technology, the user simply speaks commands in a normal
voice to play a certain song on a CD, lower the interior temperature, or place
a phone call.  The system understands continuous and natural patterns of
speech without the need to be trained to one voice.
    The driver simply presses one button -- conveniently located on the
steering wheel -- to get the vehicle's "ear" and says:

    "Phone dial 555-1212."  And it does.

    "CD play disk 3, track 7."  And it does.

    "Set temperature 72 degrees."  And it does.

    The SAE demonstration will show that Visteon's Japanese-language
capability is just as advanced as the already proven English language
capability built into the system.  With Visteon voice technology, there is no
more fumbling with complicated manual controls or going through the cumbersome
process of pre-programming which had been necessary with less advanced systems
now available on the market.
    The Visteon voice team of engineers and voice specialists has also
continued to refine the technology so it can easily understand commands
expressed in regional dialects and accents.
    Convenience isn't the only advantage.  Over time, Visteon voice technology
may free up vehicle interior designers from many of today's space constraints
dictated by reach zones for manual controls, leading to roomier interiors and
new, more compact instrument panels.
    With its lack of knobs, dials and buttons, Visteon's Voice Activated
Control System also is surprisingly easy for an automotive manufacturer to
adapt across a range of vehicle makes and models.  Manufacturers don't need to
redesign the instrument panel to incorporate Visteon's voice technology.  That
raises exciting possibilities for the introduction of the very latest
technology into the car or truck interior -- long after traditional manual
controls have been designed into the vehicle.
    Visteon's Voice Activated Control System anticipates the growing concern
over driver distraction that could result from the consumer technology
expected to proliferate inside the vehicle over the next few years:  cellular
phones, on-board navigation systems, in-car personal computing, and other
innovations that are changing the mobile environment.  As a result, Visteon's
industry-leading Voice Activated Control System will become the driver's
copilot, eliminating the need to look over and reach down to activate many of
these features through manual controls.
    "Japanese manufacturers are clearly an important market for Visteon
components and systems," says Bryars.  "We believe they will be increasingly
interested in Visteon voice technology as they introduce new, advanced
features into the driver's cockpit. "
    With a global delivery system consisting of more than 120 technical,
manufacturing, sales and service facilities located in 20 countries, Visteon
is leveraging the talents of its 82,000 employees to deliver innovative,
consumer-driven automotive solutions to its customers.