Cerence will be providing voice technology for the next generation of Lotus vehicles. The utility is being delivered in collaboration with Geely’s ECARX team, which partnered with Cerence to develop new in-car voice assistants in March of 2020. Geely is the majority shareholder for Lotus Cars.
Like other voice assistants, the Lotus solution will use speech recognition to allows drivers to control various aspects of the vehicle with simple voice commands. The system’s natural language and text-to-speech capabilities will help improve the user experience, while the assistant itself will leverage Cerence’s hybrid cloud and embedded infrastructure to provide consistent support even in areas with poor network coverage.
The first car with the new voice assistant is expected to arrive later on in 2021. The vehicle has been codenamed ‘Type 131’, and is part of a revamped-performance product line that is being designed for international markets.
“We are proud to partner with ECARX to bring the power of voice to Lotus drivers,” said Cerence SVP and Mobility Solutions GM Charles Kuai. “Through intuitive, natural voice interaction, we will create a safer, more productive and more enjoyable experience that will take Lotus Cars to the next level and delight Lotus drivers.”
“We’ve brought our performance-focused mindset to the cockpit to enhance the in-car experience for drivers,” added ECARX CEO Ziyu Shen. “Bringing modern technologies together with Cerence is a core piece of this effort, and we are excited to leverage the expertise of this industry leader for intuitive interaction for Lotus Cars.”
Geely’s partnership with Cerence took advantage of the Cerence ARK reference kit, which was designed specifically to help auto manufacturers create localized voice assistants for the Chinese market. Cerence has since released new Tour Guide and Cerence Look features that will provide drivers with more information about their surroundings while on the road.
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