In a bid to make it even easier for customers to continue communicating while also driving, Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (IMS) has announced it partnered with speech technologies provider Loquendo to add speech recognition and text to speech capabilities to their new iLane product offering.

IMS provides solutions that make cars 'safer and smarter'. Their new iLane product offers a hands-free, voice-based email solution so users can have their email and SMS messages read aloud to them as well as hear on demand content like weather and news and make and receive call, and more – all while continuing to drive safely and keep focus on the road.

By integrating Loquendo's (News - Alert) ASR and TTS technologies into iLane, the product is more natural for users and includes expressive life-like speech capabilities thanks to Loquendo's highly accurate speech recognition technology which is also capable of functioning in noisy environments like in-car use.

For most users, and especially on-the-go professionals, the ability to multi-task and check emails and other correspondences while on the road helps increase productivity and eliminates clutter to leave room for important communications in their inboxes.

"A great speech interaction experience is what we were looking for to make iLane a truly unique in-car assistant, and that's precisely what Loquendo has provided. Their embedded ASR and TTS technologies are of outstanding quality, simple to use, and integrate easily thanks to the flexible development tools they come with," comments Tony Cassetta, Chief Operating Officer at IMS.

"iLane detects your mobile device as soon as you enter the vehicle, assuming control to give you seamless, hands-free access to inbound information. It reads out your new messages, then sends your replies dictated via Loquendo's robust and accurate Speech Recognition technology," says Paolo Coppo, Loquendo VP for Marketing and Business Development. "iLane is the world's first hands-free email solution that allows users to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road."