Companies expand voice-powered what3words navigation to new verticals
BURLINGTON, Mass., July 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerence Inc. (NASDAQ: CRNC), AI for a world in motion, today announced deeper integration of what3words’ unique addressing system, pushing the boundaries of typical navigation technologies through new innovations that make every corner of the world accessible by voice.
what3words divides the world into three meter by three meter squares, assigning them a unique three-word address. When integrated with Cerence Drive’s speech recognition, drivers can quickly and easily navigate directly to their destination simply by speaking the three-word address, including in Mercedes-Benz vehicles with MBUX and in Tata Motors vehicles in India. In addition, Cerence technology powers the voice input in the what3words app, making it simple to enter addresses via voice while on the go, even in areas of limited connectivity.
As Cerence and what3words continue to further integrate their technologies, they focus on bringing simple, voice-powered navigation to new languages and new verticals, including package delivery and emergency services. For example, delivery services leveraging the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van can use their voice to enter a precise three-word address into the MBUX assistant, ensuring that packages are delivered to the precise, correct location intended by the sender. Similarly, what3words enables first responders to send a link to those in distress, which they can access to provide their what3words address and precise location. The emergency services workers can then speak the address into their smartphone and be directed to exactly where they are needed.
“Navigation has always been one of the core use cases for voice technology in the car, and it’s often one of the first tests of the automotive assistant,” said Stefan Ortmanns, EVP and General Manager, Core Products for Cerence. “Simplicity and accuracy are key for drivers to feel confident in the assistant, and there are many instances where what3words’ approach to address input helps us deliver that experience to our customers.”
“Cerence is the leading automotive voice recognition provider and we’re delighted to expand our reach to the global automotive market through this partnership,” said Chris Sheldrick, what3words CEO. “As we begin offering car manufacturers the opportunity to embed what3words offline into their navigation systems as well as through the cloud, we’ve been delighted to strengthen our consumer app and emergency service products by adding in Cerence’s voice recognition service in parallel.”
To learn more about what3words, visit www.what3words.com. To learn more about Cerence, visit www.cerence.com, and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About Cerence Inc.
Cerence (NASDAQ: CRNC) is the global industry leader in creating unique, moving experiences for the automotive world. As an innovation partner to the world’s leading automakers, it is helping transform how a car feels, responds and learns. Its track record is built on more than 20 years of knowledge and almost 325 million cars on the road today. Whether it’s connected cars, autonomous driving or e-vehicles, Cerence is mapping the road ahead. For more information, visit www.cerence.com.
About what3words
Find your what3words address here.
Details of a recent efficiency test with Mercedes-Benz and DPD can be found here.
Co-founded in London in 2013 by Chris Sheldrick, what3words is the simplest way to talk about location. The system covers the entire world, never needs updating, and works offline. A what3words address is a human-friendly way to share very precise locations with other people, or to input them into platforms and machines such as ride-hailing apps or e-commerce checkouts. It is optimised for voice input and contains built-in error prevention to immediately identify and correct input mistakes.
The free what3words app, available for iOS and Android, and the online map enable people to find, share and navigate to what3words addresses in over 40 languages to date. Millions of what3words addresses are in use around the world, with thousands of businesses using them to save money, be more efficient and provide a better customer experience. what3words is integrated into apps, platforms and websites, with just a few lines of code. Products are available for free or for a nominal fee for qualifying NGOs. Its partners include Mercedes-Benz, Tata Motors, Triumph Motorcycles, TomTom, Lonely Planet, and many emergency services across the world.
what3words has a team of over 100 people, across offices in London, UK, San Francisco, USA, Johannesburg, ZA and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The company has raised over £50 million in capital from investors such as Intel, Deutsche Bahn, SAIC Motor Corp, and the Sony Investment Fund.
Contact Information
Kate Hickman
Cerence Inc.
Tel: 857-239-0131
Email: kate.hickman@cerence.com
Miriam Frank
what3words
Email: miriam@what3words.com
Source: Cerence Inc.
