Ford engineers are planning to offer the next generation of SYNC, a system which understands 100 times more commands than its original. The new voice upgrades will be featured in the next generation of SYNC powering MyFord Touch, the driver connect technology launching this year. The system will allow drivers to use voice control using natural phrases. “Ford is committed to making voice recognition the primary user interface inside of the car because it allows drivers to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel,” said Jim Buczkowski, director of Ford electronics and electrical systems engineering. “The improvements we’ve made will make it easier for drivers to use and interact with it, even those customers that have never used voice recognition before.”

Ford is working with Nuance to integrate a large library of driver requests. The SYNC speech engine will listen and respond to more voice commands, will recognize aliases and will feature a variety of names and business types in its navigation system. “With this latest generation of SYNC, users can control the system without having to learn nearly as many commands or navigate as many menus,” said Brigitte Richardson, Ford global voice control technology and speech systems lead engineer. “As we’ve gained processing power and learned more about how drivers use the system, we’ve been able to refine the interface. Customers can do more and say more from the top-level menu, helping them accomplish their tasks more quickly and efficiently.”

According to a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, in nearly 80 percent of accidents the cause was driver inattention such as looking away from the road. The new improvements to SYNC will allow drivers to accomplish tasks without using their hands using speech patterns and will enable them to focus on driving.

For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com. For more information about Nuance products, please visit www.nuance.com.