ŠKODA presents new Digital Assistant: “Okay, Laura!”

› ŠKODA Digital Assistant to premiere in the KAMIQ city SUV and the compact SCALA

› Online-based voice control system called Laura understands natural speech in six languages

› New feature of the range-topping Amundsen infotainment system uses eSIM card included as

standard

Mladá Boleslav, 25 September 2019 – ŠKODA is premiering a new Digital Assistant: this new,

enhanced voice control system goes by the name of Laura and even understands natural

speech. Part of the range-topping Amundsen infotainment system, it is available for the new

KAMIQ as well as the compact SCALA. The Czech car maker’s introduction of the new Digital

Assistant strengthens the position of its two new models as infotainment and connectivity

pioneers in their respective segments.

The new ŠKODA KAMIQ city SUV and the compact SCALA can from now on be controlled with the

help of Laura, the new ŠKODA Digital Assistant. In vehicles equipped with the top-of-the-range

Amundsen infotainment system, a simple “Okay, Laura!” is enough to activate the enhanced voice

control system – there is no need to push a button or do anything else. Laura even understands

natural speech, so drivers are not restricted to a set of predetermined commands or phrases.

Laura has already mastered six languages and can even cope with dialects if need be

The new, enhanced and online-based voice control system can answer inquiries about a wide variety

of topics and obeys commands. It will start navigation to a desired destination, for example, find a

favourite piece of music or take dictation for an SMS. Laura already supports six languages – English,

German and French as well as Spanish, Italian and Czech. If required, the system can even

understand difficult dialects. With an on-board eSIM card included as standard, the ŠKODA KAMIQ

and SCALA are always online. This allows Laura to seamlessly combine on-board and online data and

thus respond quickly and flexibly to any situation. The transition between online and offline services is

so seamless that occupants are never aware of it.

Flexible dialogues and natural conversation style

Drivers can interrupt their dialogue with Laura at any time and use a new command, without having to

wait for the system to complete an answer. This greatly speeds up response times. Moreover, during a

conversation, the radio or media player volume is lowered rather than muted completely, which fosters

the sense of having a natural, relaxed conversation.

The features of ŠKODA’s Digital Assistant Laura are subject to continuous development, improvement

and expansion. The system will be available in upcoming models. In future, Laura will be able to

control certain vehicle functions and respond even more flexibly to complete sentences, even enabling

a kind of digital small talk. Other potential applications of the enhanced voice control system that might

become available at a later date include ŠKODA areas outside of the vehicle – such as mobile and

web apps, as well as the online conf igurator.