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IBM to enable Honda drivers to talk to cars

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW YORK: Can't find a restaurant? Running out of gas? Down to your last

dollar? Tell it to the car. International Business Machines Corp. has said that

it signed a deal with Honda Motor Corp. that will make it easier for drivers to

find the closest gas station or restaurant by asking the car's computer for

help. IBM said Honda will offer in its 2003 Accord models, for sale in

September, a navigation system that is integrated with voice recognition

software and a small touch screen.

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The voice recognition system works by touching a button on the steering wheel

and then speaking aloud. The software then responds, using the car's audio

system to give driving directions. The voice recognition software, based on

IBM's ViaVoice product, understands different speech accents and has a larger

vocabulary, according to IBM director of automotive and telematics solutions Raj

Desai.

"It's closer to the natural ability to have a dialogue, rather than just

remembering key words, which is what the previous generation systems had,"

Desai said. Companies including DaimlerChrysler AG have been building cars with

voice recognition and other wireless communications-based services for years but

it was still not clear if there is a market for the technology, called

telematics.

Ford Motor Corp., for instance, pulled the plug on its 18-month-old

telematics venture Wingcast in June. General Motors Corp. has the largest

telecommunications service system, called OnStar. IBM said price information on

the system was not available.

© Reuters

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