New innovations like emotion AI, enhanced multi-modal and augmented reality interaction, and advanced conversational capabilities will be showcased at CES 2019 in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS and BURLINGTON, Mass., Dec. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — (CES 2019) — Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today introduced new innovation in its Dragon Drive platform that transforms it into a conversational, humanized mobility assistant that will be core to the digital, button-free car of the future. With these advancements, Nuance has created the world’s first multi-sensorial, cognitive mobility assistant that is poised to change the way drivers and passengers interact with their vehicles, other forms of mobility and transportation, and smart cities.

With the ability to understand tone of voice, eye and head movements, and emotions and deep integration with both in-car and exterior sensors, as well as third-party bots and assistants through an open platform, Dragon Drive leverages a myriad of insights to provide a personalized, human-like user experience that keeps drivers and passengers entertained, productive, connected, and safe. This experience is foundational to the future of the digital car, removing the need for the myriad of buttons in today’s vehicles and giving way to a humanized, multi-sensorial user experience powered by simultaneous voice, sight, gesture and emotion interaction. Users can experience this multi-sensorial interaction through:

• POI interaction enhanced by augmented reality – Eye tracking, combined with voice recognition, can be used for interaction with points of interest outside the car, allowing the driver to get information on hours, ratings, etc. The results are highlighted in augmented reality and displayed on a smart windshield using a transparent screen, developed by Saint-Gobain Sekurit.
   
• Advanced button-free car – Leveraging voice recognition and eye tracking, users can intuitively interact with widgets on this smart windshield to access and refine services and information – phone and contacts, weather, navigation, music – that would traditionally be shown on the console display. Bringing these controls up to eye level on the windshield enhances convenience, comfort, productivity, and safety. The visibility is never compromised as you can still see through the image, a necessary feature, especially in the context of the increasingly digital and autonomous car. In addition, head tracking combined with voice recognition enables in-car controls (ex., the driver can look at the passenger-side window and say, “open that window half way”), thus further decreasing the need for button-based control in the car.
   
• Enhanced context capabilities and collaborative dialogue enable an even more human-like experience. Drivers can converse with the mobility assistant just like they would a human, referencing prior parts of the conversation, asking follow-up questions and giving follow-up commands (“open that window half way,” followed by, “a little bit more”) – all without the need for a wake-up word.

• Emotion and cognitive state analysis – Dragon Drive uses Affectiva’s Emotion AI, as well as interior cameras, to analyze facial expressions and tone of voice to understand drivers’ and passengers’ complex emotions and cognitive states such as drowsiness and distraction. The assistant then changes both its response and tone of voice to match the situation with empathy and relevance. This enhances road safety by preventing impaired driving and improves the in-cabin experience by adapting the environment to passenger moods and reactions.

“Our mission is to transform every interaction between humans and the mobility products and services they interact with every day,” said Stefan Ortmanns, executive vice president and general manager, Nuance Automotive. “There’s an immense opportunity for our highly capable mobility assistant that spans in-car services, transportation, smart cities, and more, and fits seamlessly into consumers’ increasingly digital lifestyles. Together with our automotive OEM partners, we can bring a new era of the ‘automotive assistant’ to life – a true mobility assistant.”

Dragon Drive, which will be showcased in an immersive, 220-degree theater at CES 2019 (North Hall: Booth 4138), powers more than 250 million cars on the road today across more than 40 languages, creating conversational, intelligent mobility experiences for nearly every major automaker in the world, including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Hyundai, SAIC, Toyota, and more. To learn more about the ways in which Dragon Drive is amplifying the intelligence of the connected car, visit Dragon Drive on nuance.com. For press and analysts interested in seeing Dragon Drive at CES, please contact Kate Hickman ([email protected]).

About Nuance Communications, Inc.
Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is the pioneer and leader in conversational AI innovations that bring intelligence to everyday work and life. The Company delivers solutions that can understand, analyze and respond to human language to increase productivity and amplify human intelligence. With decades of domain and artificial intelligence expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organizations – in global industries that include healthcare, telecommunications, automotive, financial services, and retail – to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Contact Information
For Press
Kate Hickman
Nuance Communications, Inc.
Tel: 781-565-4627
Email: [email protected]