KT provides AI-powered voice recognition service to Mercedez

South Korea’s top wireless carrier KT Corp. announced Thursday that it has launched an AI-powered voice recognition service for Mercedez-Benz in collaboration with US software company Cerence.

The Massachusetts-based software company provides voice recognition technology to some 200 million cars around the globe, from those made by South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. to Germany's Audi AG. 

The latest collaboration is for serving the Mercedez S-Class, EQA, and other models with special focus on serving Korean drivers. KT claims the technology provides information relevant to drivers in a safe and intuitive way; namely date, time, and location confirmations, search engine services, currency and unit conversions and more. 

For instance, if a driver says “Hi Benz, tell me how to get to the Seoul City Hall,” KT’s location tracking service will provide the itinerary via audio. 

Since 2018, KT and Cerence have jointly worked on research and development for connected car solutions specialized for the South Korean market. 

The latest AI-powered voice recognition services is a combination of KT’s connected car solutions and Cerence’s Cloud platform. 

Cerence CEO Stefan Ortmanns said, “I am pleased to provide a simple yet intuitive driving experience thanks to collaboration with KT and Mercedez-Benz Korea.”

“Based on the experience of providing a variety of connected car services to Mercedez-Benz, we plan to expand our in-vehicle offerings,” KT’s AI mobility business senior VP Choi Kang-rim said. 

Write to Da-Eun Choi at max@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.