According to Engadget the brand new version of voice control app Dragon Mobile Assistant can identify when the user is in a moving vehicle and automatically turn on the hands-free feature, which allows the user to interact with his or her mobile device by voice alone. “Driver Mode relies solely on voice recognition and feedback, keeping your focus on the road. Accordingly, the upgrade builds in spoken notifications for inbound calls, messages, upcoming meetings and Facebook updates. There’s also voice-aware email and customizable wake up commands …” However, users still need to remain careful while using their mobile device in hands-free mode, as the latest research by the University of Utah has shown that using mobile phones even with hands-free mode activated can cause distraction and prove quite dangerous for drivers.
“The research found that as mental workload and distractions increase, reaction time slows, brain function is compromised, drivers scan the road less and miss visual cues, potentially resulting in drivers not seeing items right in front of them including stop signs and pedestrians.”
Here is the full press release of the new Dragon Mobile Assistant app:
“Dragon Mobile Assistant Expands with Intelligent Driver Mode
Automatically Switches to Driver Mode in a Moving Car; Adds Customizable Wake-Up Word and Voice Notifications for Facebook, Texts, Calls and Appointments
Burlington, Mass. – June 18, 2013 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced that its Dragon Mobile Assistant app for Android is updated with new proactive assistant features, including an intelligent hands-free Driver Mode, voice notifications and the ability to customize Dragon’s wake-up word.
Dragon already keeps people organized, productive and connected with some of the most unique personal assistant capabilities available, including Friend Finder location sharing, proactive conference call dialling and more. And now, Dragon knows when users are in a moving vehicle and can automatically switch over to hands-free, eyes-free Driver Mode, keeping people connected in a safer, smarter way. Driver Mode leverages Dragon’s powerful voice recognition and expressive text to speech to give people full command and control over Dragon without having to take their hands off the wheel to touch the device or take their eyes off the road to look at the screen.
Dragon has new features that also make it an even more personal experience, including Voice Notifications that can read aloud Facebook status updates, messages, incoming calls, and upcoming appointments. And now you can choose how you wake up your Dragon with a customizable wake-up word. So whether it’s “Hi Dragon”, “Hey Dude,” or “Hello Dolly,” Dragon is ready to respond and deliver. And last but certainly not least, Dragon now also supports voice-enabled email.
“Dragon aspires to be an incredibly reliable and intuitive mobile personal assistant, not only responding to commands and providing relevant content, but also anticipating people’s needs in the moment-just like a true personal assistant,” said Michael Thompson, executive vice president and general manager, Nuance Mobile. “Dragon’s truly conversational nature and expansive directed search capabilities give people an assistant with purpose, content and information from the content providers they trust the most-leveraging a broad ecosystem without boundaries.”
Availability
Dragon leverages Nuance’s renowned voice, language understanding, ambient intelligence and expressive text-to-speech to deliver a smarter personal assistant that listens, interprets and delivers a more intuitive and connected experience. Dragon is available for free in English on Google Play in the US, supporting Android 2.3 and above.”
Source: 9to5Google
Photo: Engadget
Samsung Opens Ontario’s First Samsung Service Centre In Heartland Town Centre
Canadian Families Gets New Kid Friendly Section From Netflix For the Summer Holidays
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence