Ford expects the cars of the future to not only understand what a driver is saying but know how they 'feel' too.
The company says this will be achieved through a complex system of mics and cameras, combined with artificial intelligence (AI), which will track facial expressions as well as modulations and inflections in the driver's voice.
The car will learn behaviours, like what type of music drivers prefer to hear when they are stressed and when they prefer silence, or the interior lighting dimmed, and adjust the in-car environment accordingly.
"We're well on the road to developing the empathetic car which might tell you a joke to cheer you up, offer advice when you need it, remind you of birthdays and keep you alert on a long drive," says Fatima Vital, senior director of marketing automotive at Nuance Communications, which helped Ford develop the Sync in-car connectivity system's voice recognition.
The company is running a research project with RWTH Aachen University, which uses multiple microphones to improve speech processing and reduce the effect of external noise and potential disruptions.
Ford says within the next five years, nearly 90% of all new cars will feature some form of voice recognition system.
Nuance says within the next two years, voice control systems in cars could prompt drivers with: "Would you like to order flowers for your mum for Mother's Day?" "Shall I choose a less congested but slower route home?" and "You're running low on your favourite chocolate and your favourite store has some in stock. Want to stop by and pick some up?"
Later this year, Ford's in-car connectivity system Sync 3 will let drivers connect to Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa and speak to their car in 23 different languages.
Last week, the company announced it will invest $1 billion in Argo AI over the next five years in a bid to develop a virtual driver system for the automaker's autonomous vehicle.
The company says the investment in Argo AI is part of its strategy to bring self-driving vehicles to market in the near-term and create technology that could be licensed to others in the future.
Ford says it will make further announcements on virtual personal assistants and artificial intelligence integration at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.
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