VODIS - voice-operated driver information systems: a usability study on advanced speech technologies for car environments

This paper gives an overview over the progression and results of the VODIS (Voice-operated Driver Information Systems) project, a EU-funded project with participation of many industrial and academic partners within Europe. It describes the architecture and functionality of a driver information prototype system that is able to control telephone and audio devices, but also goes beyond these applications by enabling a potential user of the system to enter a destination within the navigation context by speech. The developed demonstrator allows the speaker-independent input of up to 70 prede ned command words, phrases and even dynamically generated names (e.g. radio stations, phonebook entries) for handsand eyes-free voice operation of the car-infotainment functions mentioned above. A prototype system has been realized in four European languages: German, French, English and Italian. User evaluations on driver level under realistic conditions have been conducted with this system and the results are presented in this paper.