The use of generative AI in cars will be expanding once again, thanks to a new collaboration between Microsoft and the well-known automotive technology company TomTom.
In a press release this morning, TomTom announced it has created its own generative AI-based voice assistant for cars. The assistant will be powered by Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service. TomTom revealed some of the details of what its AI voice assistant can do:
Drivers can converse naturally with their vehicle and ask the AI-powered assistant to navigate to a certain location, find specific stops along their route, and vocally control onboard systems to, for instance, turn up the temperature, open windows, or change radio stations. All with a single interaction.
TomTom says that its unnamed AI voice assistant can be integrated into other third-party automotive infotainment systems, and it will also be offered with the company's own Digital Cockpit infotainment platform.
Dominik Wee, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President for Manufacturing and Mobility, is quoted in the press release, stating:
We’re building on our longstanding collaboration with TomTom and bringing together AI advances across the Microsoft Cloud with TomTom's automotive expertise to provide drivers and carmakers with new AI-powered tools. This integration will enable OEMs to offer highly differentiated and unique cockpit experiences, while preserving their unique brand identity.
The press release did not mention when TomTom's AI voice assistant will be available for car owners to access. The financial details of its partnership with Microsoft were also not revealed.
Microsoft previously announced a collaboration with car maker Mercedes-Benz earlier this year. It included a three-month beta test for 900,000 vehicle owners of that luxury car company. The beta program let them access voice chat from ChatGPT on their cars, powered by Azure OpenAI Service. There's been no word on the results of that beta test program.
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