Owner's Manual for Voice Control.
The Convenient Alternative
to Manual Control.
© 2000 BMW AG
Munich/Germany
Reprinting, including excerpts, only with the
written consent of BMW AG, Munich.
Part number 01 41 0 155 409
US English IV/00
Printed in Germany
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
(bleached without chlorine, suitable for recycling).
Voice control of the car telephone 3
Speaking notepad 13
Voice control of the navigation system 15
General commands 17
Operating help 19
3n
Notes on this Owner's Manual Status at time of printing Symbols used
This Supplementary Owner's Manual is The advanced technological features Indicates instructions or precau-
intended to familiarize you with the fea- and high quality standard of BMW tions that must be followed pre-
tures of your BMW's voice control sys- equipment are maintained by an ongo- cisely in order to avoid the possibility of
tem. For descriptions of features that ing development process. This may personal injury and serious damage to
are not covered by this Owner's Manual lead to discrepancies between the the vehicle.<
please consult the main Owner's Man- information in this Owner's Manual
ual or other supplementary Owner's and the actual features of your car. Contains information that will as-
Manuals supplied with it. Nor can errors be entirely ruled out. sist you in gaining the optimum
benefit from your vehicle and enable
If you have any other queries, BMW Please therefore appreciate that no
you to care more effectively for your
Service will always be glad to advise legal claims can be entertained on the
vehicle.<
you. basis of the data, illustrations or
descriptions in this Owner's Manual.
< Marks the end of a specific item of
information.
* Indicates special equipment, country-
specific equipment and optional extras.
4nImportant information
The convenient alternative Defined voice commands Making yourself clearly
understood
Voice control enables you to activate The voice control system understands
important functions of the car telephone around 50 predefined commands, The voice control system includes a
and navigation system* without need- which need to be given exactly, word special hands-free microphone
ing to operate any controls manually. for word. mounted in the roof lining of your car,
This enables you to concentrate on the at the front; this microphone filters out
You can prompt the system to speak a
traffic situation, you do not need to di- ambient noise. There are nevertheless a
selection of these commands by acti-
vert your eyes from the road ahead in few points to observe in making sure
vating the system (refer to page 5) and
order to check readouts, and the voice you are properly understood:
giving the command >>Help<<. These
control system "converses" with you.
commands are also shown in list form > Speak continuously and at normal
A number of voice commands are avail- at the end of this Owner's Manual; this volume, avoiding unnatural emphasis
able; with a little experience, you will list can be cut out for added conve- and pauses between words
find them easy and convenient to use. nience. > Do not speak while the voice control
Whenever you issue one of the defined system itself is giving an output
commands with the system active, the The help function is integrated as > Keep doors, windows and the sun-
voice control system converts your a sub-function in the areas Tele- roof closed to avoid noise interfer-
command into a control signal for the phone, Navigation and Notepad.< ence from outside the car
telephone or navigation system. The > Avoid causing background noise in
system automatically recognizes Do not use voice control for plac- the car while you are speaking, and
whether your command is directed at ing emergency calls. Your voice ask your passengers not to speak
the telephone or the navigation sys- and habitual tone could be affected by while you are issuing voice com-
tem. Your inputs take the form of dia- stressful situations, as a result of which mands
logues or commands. You are guided the process of establishing the tele- > The hands-free microphone is posi-
through the dialogues by announce- phone connection could be unneces- tioned to pick up the driver's voice.
ments or questions. sarily delayed. Other occupants of the car could be
You are urged to use the handset in- understood with less accuracy, and
Please familiarize yourself with the
stead, or the multifunctional steering are therefore advised to use the
functions of your car telephone* or
wheel (MFL), the multi-information dis- handset when making a telephone
mobile phone* and your navigation
play (MID) or the on-board computer* call.
system* before using voice control.
if a number for emergency calls is
stored in these systems.<
Important information 5n
Interrupting voice control Now you're ready to start
A command can be interrupted by The voice control dialogues are shown
speaking the word >>Cancel<< or on the following pages.
pressing the key in the multifunc- The words of the command you should
tional steering wheel. give are shown inside double pointed
brackets >> ... << and the responses by
It is only possible to interrupt dialogues,
the voice control system in single
in which it is possible to speak a text of
pointed brackets > ... <.
your choice (names, notes), by pressing
the key.
If you receive a telephone call
while conducting a dialogue by
Activating the system
voice control, the telephone mode au-
To switch on voice control, press the
tomatically cuts in. The systems indi-
key (arrow) in the multifunctional
cates >System off< with speech output
steering wheel:
and "SYSTEM OFF" appears in the
Check Control*.<
> Press this key briefly to activate the
normal telephone functions, which
Deactivating the system
are described in the Owner's Manual
for your BMW car telephone or BMW
You can switch off the voice control
mobile phone
system in the following ways:
> Hold the key pressed in (until the
> By pressing the key (arrow) in the
acoustic signal is heard) to activate
multifunctional steering wheel for a
voice control. A brief acoustic signal
longer time
and the display "VOICE RECOGNI-
> By avoiding speech input for a period
TION" in the Check Control* indicate
longer than 10 seconds
that the system is now in the standby
> With the >>Cancel<< command.
mode.
The systems indicates >System off<
Before giving a new voice command 
with speech output and "SYSTEM OFF"
except during a dialogue  always press
appears in the Check Control*.
the key again.
sesde001
6nDialing a telephone number  a full example
Starting a dialogue Saying numbers Establishing a connection
Hold the key in the multifunctional The system understands single digits The commands
steering wheel pressed in (until the from zero to nine. You can choose to
>>Dial phone<<
acoustic signal is heard). say either >>zero<< or >>nought<<.
or
Numbers such as ten, eleven, twelve,
The commands
>>Dial phone number<<
etc. are not recognized.
>>Dial phone<<
terminate input of the digits, and a con-
To speed up input, it is a good idea to
or
nection is established with the tele-
group together between three and five
>>Dial (phone) number<< phone number displayed. Any audio
digits into a continuous string. How-
sources in the car are muted.
ever, you can also say each digit indi-
call up the dialogue for establishing a
vidually, or all digits continuously.
telephone connection. You are guided
through this process by a predefined
Telephone numbers of up to
dialogue.
30 digits are acknowledged. If a
longer number is given, the following
error message will be: >The number
is too long<.<
Dialing a telephone number
You say Voice output Display output
>>Dial phone (number)<< >Please speak number< SPEAK NUMBER
>>One, eight, zero, zero<< >One, eight, zero, zero, continue?< TEL 1800
>>Three, eight, two, four<< >Three, eight, two, four, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>One, six, eight<< >One, six, eight, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>Dial phone (number)<< >Dialing< TEL [phone]
Dialing a telephone number  a full example 7n
Correcting inputs Deleting inputs Interrupting
If you have made a mistake or if the >>Delete<< >>Cancel<<
voice control system has misunder-
does not merely delete the last block terminates voice input at any point of
stood you, say
of digits, in contrast to >>Correction<<; the dialogue. If a telephone connection
>>Correction<< it deletes all digits that have so far been has already been established, it can be
entered. ended by holding the key pressed
to repeat the last block of digits. After
in.
the command >>Correction<<, the sys- It is then necessary to enter the digits
tem repeats the digits that were entered again from the very beginning.
Hold the key pressed in (until
correctly up to that point.
the acoustic signal is heard) to
The command >>Correction<< can be
end a telephone call.
repeated as often as necessary. To cor-
If the key is pressed briefly at this
rect an error in the second to last block
point in the telephone dialogue, redial-
of digits, issue the command >>Correc-
ing will be activated via the multifunc-
tion<< twice in succession without say-
tional steering wheel.<
ing a digit between the two commands.
Correcting or deleting inputs
You say Voice output Display output
>>Dial phone (number)<< >Please speak the number< SPEAK NUMBER
>>One, eight, zero, zero<< >One, eight, zero, zero, continue?< TEL 1800
>>Three, eight, two<< >Three, eight, two, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>Four, one, six<< >Four, one, six, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>Correction<< >One, eight... eight, two, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>Correction<< >One, eight, zero, zero, continue?< TEL 1800
>>Clear<< >Please speak the number< SPEAK NUMBER
8nDialing a telephone number  a full example
For those in a hurry Checking input
Instead of the standard dialogue, you The command
can use the command
>>Verify<<
>>Number<<
is used to have the voice control system
to activate a short form. The speech read off all inputs made up to this point
output is then reduced to a minimum. for checking.
The other commands for establishing
a telephone connection also apply to
the short form of the dialogue.
Short form for dialing a telephone number
You say Voice output Display output
>>Number<< >Speak the number< SPEAK NUMBER
>>One, eight, zero, zero<< >One, eight, zero, zero< TEL 1800
>>Three, eight, two, four<< >Three, eight, two, four< TEL [phone]
>>One, six, eight<< >One, six, eight< TEL [phone]
>>Dial (phone) number<< >Dialing< TEL [phone]
Storing and deleting a telephone number 9n
The command The time taken to say the names in
Storing a telephone number
your voice control phonebook may
Telephone numbers which you dial >>Save<<
not exceed 2.5 seconds.
frequently can be stored in conjunction
enters the displayed telephone number
If possible, keep names as acoustically
with the subscriber's name, which
in the memory, together with the name
distinct from one another as possible,
serves as the search word.
you have given as the search word.
for example, "Miller Peter" and "Taylor
>>Store/Save name<<
Susan" instead of "Mr. Miller" and "Ms.
or
Taylor." This will improve recognition
when you come to make a call.
>>Add name/number<<
Depending on the length of the names
calls up the dialogue for storing a name.
and numbers you have entered, it is
To ensure the name is recognized reli-
possible to store up to 50 entries.<
ably when called up, you are requested
to speak it twice. You are then asked to
give the number. The same rules as for
the >>Dial phone number<< command
apply.
Storing a telephone number with name
You say Voice output Display output
>>Store name<< >Please speak the name< SPEAK NAME
>>Taylor Susan<< >Please repeat< REPEAT NAME
>>Taylor Susan<< >Please speak the number< SPEAK NUMBER
>>One, eight, zero, zero<< >One, eight, zero, zero, continue?< TEL 1800
>>Three, eight, two, four<< >Three, eight, two, four, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>One, six, eight<< >One, six, eight, continue?< TEL [phone]
>>Save<< >Name and number are saved< NAME SAVED
10nStoring and deleting a telephone number
The names and telephone num-
Deleting a memory entry Deleting all memory entries
bers entered in your voice control
The command The command
phonebook are independent of the
>>Delete/Clear name<< >>Clear/Delete phonebook<<
telephone or SIM card memory of your
deletes an entry from our voice control deletes all entries in your phonebook.
BMW car telephone or BMW mobile
phonebook. You are then asked to give
phone.
It is not possible to alter the name or
the name for the telephone number
In other words, it is not possible to call
number of an individual entry stored in
which you wish to delete.
up the numbers stored in the telephone
the phonebook. Instead, delete the
itself or on the SIM card by voice input,
incorrect entry and re-enter it in its cor-
nor is it possible to store numbers there
rect form.
by voice input.<
Deleting an individual telephone number
You say Voice output Display output
>>Delete name<< >Please speak the name< SPEAK NAME
>>Taylor Susan<< >Would you like to delete the name?< TEL [phone]
>>Yes<< >Name and number are deleted< NAME DELETED
Clearing the entire phonebook
You say Voice output Display output
>>Clear phonebook<< >Would you like to clear the CLEAR PHONEBOOK?
phonebook?<
>>Yes<< >Are you sure?< CLEAR PHONEBOOK?
>>Yes<< >The phonebook has been cleared< PHONEBOOK CLEARED
Dialing a telephone number from the memory 11n
A short form of this dialogue can be The voice control system will
Dialing a telephone number
called up with "understand" best the person who
The command
made the entries.<
>>Name<<
>>Dial name<<
The speech output is then reduced to
activates the telephone number mem-
a minimum.
ory. When prompted by the voice con-
trol system, speak the name under
which you have stored the telephone
number you want.
Dialing a telephone number in the memory
You say Voice output Display output
>>Dial name<< >Please speak the name< SPEAK NAME
>>Taylor Susan<< >Taylor Susan, are you sure?< TEL [phone]
>>Yes<< >Dialing< TEL [phone]
Short form for dialing a telephone number in the memory
You say Voice output Display output
>>Name<< >Speak the name< SPEAK NAME
>>Taylor Susan<< >Taylor Susan, are you sure?< TEL [phone]
>>Yes<< >Dialing< TEL [phone]
12nDialing a telephone number from the memory/redialing
Reading out the phonebook Redialing
The command The command
>>Read phonebook<< >>Redial<<
or dials the telephone number last used.
>>Play phonebook<<
By pressing the key in the mul-
enables you to have all entries in your
tifunctional steering wheel you
voice control phonebook read out in the
also activate the redialing function.<
order in which they were entered.
To dial a telephone number that has
been read out, give the command
>>Dial (number)<< immediately after
the voice control has read out the num-
ber you want.
Dialing from the phonebook
You say Voice output Display output
>>Read phonebook<< (Reads out the entries) (Display numbers)
>>Dial (number)<< >Dialing< (Display number)
Redialing the telephone number last used
You say Voice output Display output
>>Redial<< >Dialing< (Display number)
Recording a note 13n
When recording notes, the voice
Your speaking notepad
control "ignores" the >>Cancel<<
Following the command
command.
>>Record (note)<<
In this instance, the function which
or
identifies the command words is de-
activated to enable you a free choice
>>Record (memo)<<
of vocabulary in your notes. In other
you can record spoken text for a total of
words, command words do not have
about five minutes, either as individual
to be avoided.<
passages or continuously.
To end recording, hold the key
pressed in.
Recording spoken notes
You say Voice output Display output
>>Record (note)<< >Recording< RECORDING NOTE
(Speak your text)  RECORDING NOTE
Hold pressed in >End of note< END OF NOTE
14nListening to and deleting a note
Notepad Clearing the notepad
Recorded notes are called up with the The command
command
>>Clear notepad<<
>>Play note(pad)<<
or
or
>>Delete notepad<<
>>Read note(pad)<<
clears the entire notepad. It is not
They are played back in the order in possible to delete individual entries.
which they were recorded.
Holding the key in the multi-
functional steering wheel pressed
in cancels the output of the notes.<
Listening to spoken notes
You say Voice output Display output
>>Play note(pad)<< (Reads out all notes) PLAYING NOTE
Hold pressed in >End of notepad< END OF NOTEPAD
Deleting spoken notes
You say Voice output Display output
>>Clear notepad<< >Would you like to clear the notepad?< CLEAR NOTEPAD
>>Yes<< >The notepad has been cleared< NOTEPAD CLEARED
GPS navigation* by voice control 15n
Selecting map mode Information on current position or Activating destination guidance
destination
The command The command
Following the command
>>Route map<< >>Navigation<<
>>Gas station at current location<<
calls up the map mode on the monitor activates the destination guidance func-
of the on-board computer, irrespective all gas stations in your vicinity are listed tion of your navigation system, provided
of which menu it is currently showing. on the on-board computer. a destination has been entered.
When the map mode has been acti- If you have entered a destination in the The command
vated, you can call up all valid scales navigation system, you can also call up
>>Save position<<
with the commands with the command
memorizes your current position as the
>>Scale 400 feet<< >>Gas station at destination<<
starting point for the navigation pro-
to a list of all gas stations in the vicinity cess. To confirm, in addition press the
of the destination specified. Browse rotary knob on the on-board computer.
>>Scale 50 miles<<
up and down the list with the rotary
The commands
Valid scales are:
knob for the on-board computer (see
>>Instruction<<
> 400 or 800 feet
Owner's Manual for on-board com-
> 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25 or 50 miles. and
puter).
>>Instruction off<<
As soon as you have issued the last
command once, from that point on gas
switch the spoken instructions of the
stations are always flashed up in the
navigation system on and off.
road maps.
The command
The same principle applies to calling up
>>New route<<
information on parking lots, hotels or
prepares the on-board computer for
restaurants. Depending on which com-
immediate input of information of your
mand was used most recently, parking
choice, using the rotary knob.
lots, hotels or restaurants are also
shown on the road maps.
16n
General commands 17n
Adjusting the volume Command not recognized
The commands If a command is not recognized by the
speech recognition system, it responds
>>Volume up<<
with >>Sorry?<<.
or
Please say your command again.
>>Volume down<<
adjust the volume of the speech output.
By repeating the command >>Volume
up<< or >>Volume down<<, the volume
is raised or lowered in predefined incre-
ments.
Adjusting the volume
You say Voice output Display output
>>Volume up<<  VOLUME  +
>>Volume down<<  VOLUME  +
18n
Operating help 19n
Activating user help function Calling up telephone commands
The command The command
>>Help<< >>Help phone<<
calls up the user help function. will cause the speech recognition
system to read off the following com-
The user help function is divided into
mands:
three areas:
> >Dial number<
> Telephone
> >Dial name<
> Navigation
> >Add name<
> Notepad
> >Delete name<
It calls up a list of telephone commands
> >Play phonebook<
in spoken form.
> >Clear phonebook<
> >Redial<
The display "HELP PHONE" appears in
the Check Control*.
20nOperating help
Calling up notepad commands Calling up navigation commands
The command The command
>>Help note(pad)<< >>Help navigation<<
will cause the speech recognition will cause the speech recognition
system to read off the following system to read off the following
commands: commands:
> >Record note< > >Route map<
> >Play notepad< > >Navigation<
> >Clear notepad< > >Scale 400/800 feet<
> >Scale one quarter of a mile<
The display "HELP NOTEPAD" appears
> >Scale half a mile<
in the Check Control*.
> >Scale 1/2.5/5/10/25/50 miles<
> >Hotel at current location<
> >Parking lot at current location<
> >Restaurant at current location<
> >Gas station at current location<
> >Hotel at destination<
> >Parking lot at destination<
> >Restaurant at destination<
> >Gas station at destination<
> >Save current position<
> >New route<
> >Instruction<
> >Instruction off<
The display "HELP NAVIGATION"
appears in the Check Control*.
Voice control.
Telephone commands
at a glance.
Dial phone/Dial phone number/Number
Dial/Redial
Correction
Clear
Cancel
Dial name
Store name
Add name/Add number
Save
Delete name
Play phonebook/Read phonebook
Clear phonebook
Record note/Record memo
Play notepad/Read notepad/Read note
Delete notepad/Clear notepad
Voice control.
Navigation commands
at a glance.
Route map
Scale 400 feet/.../Scale 50 miles
Navigation
Gas station at current location/at destination
Parking lot at current location/at destination
Carpark at current location/at destination
Hotel at current location/at destination
Restaurant at current location/at destination
Save position/Save current position
Instruction
Instruction off
New route
The Ultimate Driving Machine
01 41 0 155 409 US-En