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Automotive giant Ford has worked with Nuance Communications to enable its SYNC in-car software to understand a multitude of accents in a variety of languages.

The launch, timed with the European Day of Languages, allows drivers to make calls, play music, and set navigation in their local accent, increasing convenience and recognising diversity.

Ford of Europe Electronic and Electrical Systems Engineering global chief engineer, Christof Kellerwessel, said, “People rightly...

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A survey of US drivers from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) reveals the majority would not want to give up driving for fully automated vehicles for the time being.

43% of the 505 respondents indicated a preference for no self-driving, while 40% would be happy with partially self-driving vehicles and only 15% want completely autonomous. The report notes preference for vehicle automation “generally decreased” as age increased.

More than...

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Google has made a series of announcements related to connected car tech, but at two different levels. On the one hand, the search giant has announced hopes its self-driving cars will gain official release within five years, while elsewhere the Android Auto app has been announced, which lets users interact with their smartphones more safely when on the road.

You’ll need a little bit more than just the app to get started with Android Auto, however; users will need an Android 5.0 or...

Aspects of in-car communication are still causing headaches for drivers, with a study from market research firm J.D. Power placing Bluetooth connectivity and voice interpretation at the top of a list of woes.

Of those that experience Bluetooth pairing or connectivity issues, 55% complained that the vehicle did not recognise their phone and 31% admitted their device would not automatically connect when entering the car.

Failing communications are playing a part with drivers’ decisions to repurchase with...

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Personalisation is set to be the next significant hurdle for car manufacturers and Nuance thinks it has the perfect solution with a fresh new update to its Dragon Drive product.

In today’s economical era of car use, there is a high chance that one vehicle will have more than a single driver. In these cases, each specific driver will have their own preference for configuring different aspects of the car.

Rather than having to tweak a whole host of settings before a driver...

US Car manufacturer Ford has announced Sync 3, the latest edition of its communications and entertainment system.

Ford’s new system signals a switch in allegiance too, with the company dispensing with Microsoft Auto and opting for BlackBerry’s QNX platform instead. Early signs suggest that it has been a good move for the car manufacturer.

Prior to Sync 3, Ford’s earlier attempts at touch-screen infotainment left a little to be desired. Problems ranged from minor bugs to sporadic hard resets...

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Manufacturer of 4x4 vehicles and luxury saloons Jaguar Land Rover has unleashed justDrive, a new infotainment and connectivity platform.

Instead of opting for one of the more renowned operating systems, Jaguar has chosen Silicon Valley-based CloudCar to base its platform on. Jaguar has optimised justDrive for CloudCar’s InControl platform, which will support Apple iOS 8 and Android mobile phones.

When asked by Connected Car Tech about the reasoning behind Jaguar’s...

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Voice-activated technology is at the core of many of today’s connected car implementations, but new research finds it to be one of the top distractions for drivers.

The recent study from the Automotive Association of America Foundation for Traffic Safety uses several ranking factors to compare speech-to-text technology with other tasks that might...