Kakao, Hyundai to cooperate on in-car speech recognition
South Korean chat giant Kakao will cooperate with car makers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors to apply server-based speech recognition technology to cars that utilise its AI platform Kakao I, the company announced.
The technology, which was co-developed with Hyundai and Kia, will first be applied on Hyundai's Genesis G70 model in September of this year.
The technology allows drivers to voice search for destinations in "one shot" commands, the company said, and is activated by the voice search button on the steering wheel.
Once the driver's word is registered, it is processed at Kakao's servers for speech recognition, then delivered to servers of Kakao Map, the firm's navigation app, and pin-pointed back to the car's navigation system.
The system supports a large variety of search and filtering functionality, such as addresses and businesses in specific neighbourhoods, Kakao said.
Kakao I combines multimedia and language recognition and processing technologies, with the firm planning to apply it to in-house services such as the Kakao Mini -- an AI-powered speech-reading speaker unveiled earlier this month -- as well as outside partners such as Hyundai and Kia.
Products and services using the platform will have a "Kakao I Inside" logo, the firm said.
Hyundai is also cooperating with Cisco for a connected car concept that includes high-speed connectivity and end-to-end security.
In March, Kakao announced investment via its venture capital arm in Perseus, a connected car security startup.
Hyundai and Kia are affiliate companies under Hyundai Motor Group, the fifth largest car maker globally.