GF82.70-P-0002T Voice Control System (VCS (SBS)), Function
GF82.70-P-0002T Voice Control System (VCS [SBS]), Function
- with CODE (813) Voice control system (VCS)
Function
A voice control system (VCS) for audio, communications and navigation system is used for the integrated communication and audio system in the vehicle.
With the aid of the voice control system (VCS) it is possible to recognize both compound spoken commands, that can be entered without prior training, in other words regardless of the speaker, and names that are specified and trained by the user in the speaker-dependent mode. The voice control system (VCS) includes a function for the suppression of ambient noise, so that voice control is possible even with relatively loud driving noise.
In the event of a non-activated voice recognition, the signals of the hands-free system microphone group (A67b1) can be freed from the driving noise of the vehicle with the aid of a very powerful noise reduction mode.
Thus, even with relatively loud driving noise, a clear improvement of the hands-free system quality can be accomplished. With unclear speakers, the recognition rate can be influenced positively via subsequent training.
The goal of the voice control system (VCS) is to relieve the user during driving, to provide access to a number of functions, without distracting from the traffic and allow intuitive function control.
The basic performance features of the voice control system (VCS) are:
^ Operation of the telephone via voice control
^ Improvement of the hands-free quality during a telephone conversation by processing 4 microphone signals with noise reduction and echo compensation
^ Operation of the address book via voice command
^ Operation of the audio components via voice command
^ Operation of the TV function via voice command
^ Operation of the navigation system via voice command
^ Subsequent speaker training
^ Voice output for dialog
^ Help function for the user
Activation and deactivation takes place by pressing the VCS switch (S93/2), which is signaled to the user acoustically by a beep in the case of activation and by a spoken announcement in the case of deactivation.
After activation, the radio in the vehicle is automatically muted. The volume setting can be changed by using the appropriate control or via the + and - buttons, setting of specific functions and volume control (S111s1) at the multifunction steering wheel. Tone or volume control are not possible via the voice control system (VCS).
In addition to this manual volume adjustment, there is a noise-dependent volume adjustment in three stages for the voice output of the voice control system (VCS).
It depends on the magnitude of the ambient noise level in the vehicle and cannot be influenced by the user. The voice control system (VCS) also contains a priority control, i.e. should conflicts arise with respect to the operation of individual components of the communication or audio system, then the functions started by the voice control system (VCS) are interrupted or skipped.
Example:
The navigation system attempts voice output while the voice control system (VCS) is involved in a dialog with the user. As the spoken announcement of the navigation system has the highest priority of all systems, the dialog with the voice control system (VCS) is interrupted by the system, the spoken announcement (navigation) is made and the system returns to the dialog with the user.
The voice control system (VCS) is designed so that only a minimal boot software is accommodated on the system when in mint condition. This makes the run up of the system, communication via the CAN interior, and the diagnosis scope possible. The actual application software for the particular language is entered in the vehicle during the production process (supplied via CAN interior). Using the same procedure it is possible to update the voice control system (VCS) later on (e.g., changing the language).
User guidance, function
In addition to the voice recognition, the voice control system (VCS) offers a voice output for user guidance. These outputs are compressed texts that are recorded in a sound studio within a frequency range of 100 to 3500 Hz. The selection includes a male and a female voice. The same speakers are used as for the navigation system.
Help menu, function
To provide a better access to more complex functionalities of the speech recognition systems a comfortable help function is required. It is provided to the user in the following form:
^ If an invalid command was entered 3 times
^ Through the "help" command, in which the help function is always executed dependent on the context.
In detailed form this means:
^ If the help function is activated in the menu by using the "help" command or as a result of no entry, then the information is limited through a help dialog; "Which device do you want to use to get help"?
^ If help is requested together with a key word, such as "radio help", then the possible commands for the control of the radio are read aloud, e.g., frequency scan or transmitter scan
^ If "help" is requested in a sub-menu without a key word and without an entry, then the particular commands are read aloud
The help function is executed in such a way that the user is offered the most important commands (in context and classified by importance).
At the end of the help texts the voice recognition is started and then returns to the context it was in before it was activated.
It mainly has to be observed that the voice recognition is active after requesting or aborting the help function and that, depending on the help level, the commands may have a different meaning than they normally have. The "radio" command normally switches to radio, however, in the help mode it activates the help texts for radio control.
