"The original scenario was purely hands-free operation," said Mr. Foley, the trade group executive.
The Bluetooth-based Sync allows hands-free operation of cellphones, iPods, other music players and U.S.B. storage drives, via voice commands or steering wheel buttons.
Of course, hands-free operation doesn't eliminate the risks of using a phone while driving, but it does diminish them.
The bulk of the recommendations concerned improved safety measures, with the committee advocating everything from an electronic head-count system, to underwater breathing apparatus capable of hands-free operation, to larger buffer zones between the racecourse and the spectator fleet.
And its hands-free operation has left me free to ponder whether there should be more domestic robots in my future -- robot vacuum cleaners, robot coffee makers, robot gasoline pumps -- and to think about Walt Whitman.
Some of the benefits of telematics are, of course, available to any driver with a cellular telephone, especially if it has hands-free operation and voice dialing, or if there is a passenger who can place the call.
Given the evidence suggesting that even hands-free operation is dangerously distracting to drivers, we may need to ask whether all cellphone use should be technologically impeded in moving cars.
The more expensive radios come with many extra features, like voice-activated transmissions for hands-free operation, a choice of sounds to signify incoming calls (including vibration), a built-in weather radio or a scramble mode that makes your conversation unintelligible to nearby listeners using a different brand.
It distinguishes itself from the pack with a voice-recognition system for hands-free operation of the audio and navigation systems, a TV camera on the trunk lid that shows you what you might be backing into, sensors that continuously report tire pressure, a switch that lets the driver adjust the aim of the headlamps, and "bird view" navigation maps that display routes in an aerial perspective.
Acoustic echo control is of vital interest for hands-free operation of telecommunications equipment.
