So, how exactly does it work? We mean, really work.
That’s the reaction lots of
people have when they read about a new product in a magazine or on-line. (Other reactions include “looks
cool”, “what a bunch of hype”, and “Wow. Hot model.”)
So it was great news when
Autoblogger Chris found XM Radio in his wanderings at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, and got the lowdown on the satellite
radio company’s Advance Services Concept (see here for Autoblog’s post on this
service).
So how does it really work? Take it away, Chris (pictures and text after the jump)
“Amidst the din of shock
jocks Opie & Anthony (pictured above), XM Satellite Radio introduced its Advanced Services Concept, housed in this
Lexus LX 470. It features the following “XmXtras”:
Combines
traditional XM Satellite radio with GPS, real-time traffic, sports, weather, stocks, satellite video and
parking.
“Using much of XM’s existing architecture, the provider has figured out a way to
jam eight channels worth of live audio/video feeds into the mix. That means eight TV channels without a cumbersome
large roof-resident dish as with the huge RaySat setup (albeit far fewer channels). Also has on-demand programming.
Working with parking data supplier NuMetrics, XM’s real-time data as to
what spots are available where on your GPS map.
“Basically, it can tell you there are twenty
spots available at CostCo before you arrive, and give you the phone number and address to the place as well.
Advanced voice recognition program (XM partnered with a company called
VoiceBox) allows users to speak in ‘natural’ phrases by cherry-picking key words.
“One can say “What’s the weather in Cleveland like today?” and have it read the answer
to you. It also stays on-topic…. one can then say “and in Baton Rouge?” without repeating the rest of the
phrasing. Also works for sports scores (“How’d the Mets do last night?”, stock quotes, etc.) Also works with
XM radio: “I’d like to listen to Fred” or “What White Stripes album is this song from?”
Weather ties in with GPS to let you know when you’re about to hit bad
weather
“It can tell you in advance whether your road is headed for a thunderstorm or icy
conditions. Uses technology derived from XM WX Satellite Weather, their aviator meteorology system used in 80% of new
private aircraft.
The voice recognition has just been embedded (last week), so it isn’t software driven
anymore, an important step in getting closer to production. XM Product Marketing Analyst Sven Finnis (seen in the pic
giving me a demonstration) says that this system could be seen on production vehicles within a year (he didn’t say
which ones, but mfgs like Acura already use advanced XM products like their trafffic service).”