Automotive infotainment system with spatially-cognizant applications that interact with a speech interface

An apparatus comprising

• a navigator that provides location information, said location information comprising information that is indicative of a geographic location of said vehicle,
• an automotive processing unit that is integrated into a vehicle having a cabin, and a loudspeaker that radiates sound into said cabin, and plural microphones disposed at seats in said vehicle, said automotive processing unit comprising said navigator,
• a processor,
• an application suite comprising one or more spatially-cognizant applications, wherein said spatially-cognizant applications provide output that depends at least in part on location of said vehicle,
• an automotive assistant that is configured to execute one or more of said spatially-cognizant applications,
• an infotainment system that comprises said application suite,
• a tour-guide application, said tour-guide application being among said spatially-cognizant applications,
• a speech interface that is configured:
• to receive a navigation announcement from said navigator and a touring announcement from said tour-guide application,
• to use said processor to combine content from said navigation announcement and content from said touring announcement to form a hybrid announcement,
• and to cause said hybrid announcement to be made audible in said cabin through said loudspeaker, said hybrid announcement comprising content from said touring announcement and content from said navigation announcement, said processor being a natural-language processor that is a constituent of said speech interface.

An apparatus for causing a natural language hybrid announcement to be spoken within a vehicle having an automotive assistant that is configured to execute one or more applications, said applications being spatially-cognizant applications, each of which provides an announcement that is based at least in part on a location of said vehicle, said applications comprising first and second applications, said apparatus comprising:

• a navigator that provides location information, said location information comprising information that is indicative of a geographic location of said vehicle,
• an automotive processing unit that is integrated into a cabin of the vehicle, and a loudspeaker that radiates sound into said cabin, and plural microphones disposed at seats in said vehicle, said automotive processing unit comprising said navigator,
• a processor,
• an application suite comprising the spatially-cognizant applications,
• an infotainment system,
• a tour-guide application, said tour-guide application being among said spatially-cognizant applications, and
• a speech interface that is configured for:
• receiving first and second announcements from said first and second applications, respectively, said first announcement comprising text,
• forming a hybrid announcement based on said first and second announcements, said hybrid announcement being a natural-language announcement,
• causing said hybrid announcement to be output via the said loudspeaker into the said cabin of said vehicle at a time and location that is constrained by said first and second announcements.