Ford Gets Emotional with Advanced Tech

Ford Motor Co. says it is developing new sensors and software that could enable next-generation vehicles to act as pro-active personal assistants or provide friendly support based on a driver’s mood and needs.

The carmaker is partnering with Germany’s RWTH Aachen University to create advanced in-car microphone and camera systems to listen to and observe occupants. Detecting slight changes in vocal inflections and facial expressions, such technologies could be used to determine a person’s emotional state or activity, then adjust the passenger compartment’s lighting, temperature and music accordingly, Ford says.

The audio system also could be programmed to start a conversation, ask questions or even tell a joke, according to Burlington Mass.-based Nuance Communications Inc., which developed voice recognition in Ford’s Sync infotainment system. The latest Sync 3 system recognizes commands such as “I’m hungry” and “I need coffee,” the partners note.

This summer Sync will be updated to allow driver’s to connect to third-party virtual assistants, such as Amazon’s Alexa system. Users will be able to converse in 23 languages and a variety of local accents. The next step is to refine the system for more conversational speaking with personalized wording.

By the end of the decade, Nuance envisions voice-control systems interacting with drivers in a variety of ways, such as suggesting alternative routes, sounding alerts on long drives and offering reminders about grocery shopping and upcoming appointments and birthdays. Future gesture and eye control systems could allow motorists to answer calls with a nod of the head, adjust audio levels with short twisting hand motions and set the navigation system by simply glancing at the desired destination on a map display.

Citing recent IHS Markit forecasts, Ford says nearly 90% of new vehicles will offer some sort of speech-recognition capability controls by 2022. About three-fourths of these will include cloud-based voice control functions.

Ford says it will announce more details about future mobility and connectivity systems next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.