Sogou Maps launches ‘co-driver’ voice interactive system

At a time when Chinese enterprises are focusing on smart home technology and intelligent speakers, Sogou, a subsidiary of Internet company Sohu Inc., is turning to voice technology to enhance map usability.

Sogou Maps, a popular Chinese mapping service application, on Tuesday launched an “intelligent co-driver” system which allows voice interaction during car journeys, liberating drivers’ eyes and hands and instilling safer driving habits.

The new system embedded in Sogou Maps — the first of its kind in the industry — is able to support conversations in various scenarios inside the vehicle, including locating a destination, setting up a route, and inquiring about road conditions and — all through voice commands.

For example, when a user says, “I want to go to the Beijing Olympic Forest Park”, the system will respond with “Are you going to the South Park or North Park?” When the destination is determined, a suitable route will be planned with information about the length of the journey and estimated arrival time.

The system is also able to anticipate other queries, such as traffic jams, parking lot availability, and nearby food places around the destination.

So far, Sogou Maps has reached 97% accuracy in voice recognition.

It has made a breakthrough in the industry by achieving a all-rounded voice interaction during a journey, according to Kong Xianglai, general manager of Sogou Maps.

This major breakthrough is mostly due to its comprehensive and excellent techniques, such as voice recognition, language interpretation, intelligent error-correction, intelligent search, and intention analysis.

Sogou Maps receives an average of 240 million voice requests each day, allowing the company to accumulate a enormous amount of data, especially in noisy environments and differing accents.

The new system also provides cloud services and customized voice-assistant services for vehicle manufacturers.

Industry insiders believe the system’s combination of map data and voice recognition will further link internal car controls and external car services, pushing the technology into a new direction where it could possibly be utilised in bigger and more service areas.

This article by Chaos originally appeared in tech2ipo and was translated by Pandaily.

Click here to read the original Chinese article.