The next mobile platform has been evolving for a number of years – too many years in fact.  This platform has incredible power, potentially limitless screen space, and in most cases already had speech control.  That platform is of course, your vehicle.

Like many, I have watched vehicle capabilities evolve from enhanced stereo controls (where you could – stand back – actually change the color of the display), to social media on wheels.  Many even mid-priced models offer voice-enabled audio controls, turn by turn navigation, and even the ability to read and respond to Twitter and Facebook.

However, it has taken an unbelievably long time to get to this point.  Capabilities that evolve on a true mobile device can go from concept to production in a matter of months in some cases.  And your car?  You’d be lucky to get something in 24 months.  And when it does become available, it will likely be a proprietary implementation with little if any upgradeability.  I know the answer as to why.  Trickle out the technology and sooner or later, it will offer just enough wow factor for you to pony up for a new set of wheels.

Of course the larger problem is that I already have my mobile device, which is actually taking on more and more functions for me (browsing, wallet, loyalty cards, home automation control, social, oh – and a phone).  I have my social media configured, my task management tools enabled, my messaging functions setup with the right filters and alerts, as well as my contacts.  Why do I have to configure the same thing again within my vehicle?

I can appreciate that, however, I think there is a better way.  I would like to see auto manufacturers actually create a platform by which your mobile device and its applications integrates into the car.  BMW has taken a good first step at this with BMW Connected.  Ford has some capabilities with the Sync option. The downside to both of these is that they are optional.  Ford even goes further by offering four different configurations of Sync.  I would think it would be far easier for auto manufacturers to create a platform for others to build on.  They could then focus on building auto-specific capabilities into the apps as complements (and differentiators).  Seems that has been done before on the mobile front…

Here’s to looking forward to that next new mobile platform – maybe with the 400hp feature but not hands free.

Speech is everywhere.  By everywhere, I mean everywhere in the world of technology and interaction. And it is getting really good.  Even IBM has seen the light (IBM – Watson to Super Siri) Some may argue, however, I would posit that the more significant problem is the implementation of speech and not the technology itself.  But more on that later…

My first work with speech recognition was many years ago, working for a couple of very advanced cardiology firms in Kansas City.  At the time, we were experimenting with electronic medical records.  We were also exploring how the cardiologists could dictate chart notes and have them automatically transcribed into the patient record.  At the time, Dragon, then a very small firm, had an application that could be loaded on a machine and in only two weeks, learn the style and tone of the person dictating.  In case anyone was curious, doctors as much as i appreciate them, have zero patience for such things. A couple of adventurous docs worked with us, but in the end we passed on any sort of deployment.

Times and technology have changed.  I’ve gone from technology that required 2 weeks of constant training (with questionable accuracy) to capabilities that can sit on your mobile device, recognize your voice through cloud services (thanks Nuance), and provide a complete multimodal experience.  All in less than 2 seconds.  Speech is in your car, built into your computer, and even into your television.  While hopefully more friendly than HAL, this era of speech enablement shows incredible promise.  It will take some time to get people acclimated to a new normal. As long as there is a focus on quality (take note auto manufacturers – we can’t have a static platform – you need to embrace the cloud) and a strong element of design (the right use of speech and visual prompts), speech will become a natural way for us to interact – with technology.

Welcome to a new era of interaction – talk to me.