Alibaba Collaborates With Carmakers to Connect Cars with Homes
The integration of smart voice assistant will be compatible with connected car apps developed by carmakers.
We hear a lot about the word “smart” put in front of anything. Even our home appliances have risen to the level of smartness that was only science fiction some 20 years ago. The major reason why we are on the smart track is the rise in IoT and AI technologies.
A place where we spend a lot of time besides being at our home or office is our cars. Automakers are making sure that cars are smart too, in order to remain at par with the changes that go around them.
In light of recent events, Daimler, Volvo, and Audi have made a giant leap in terms of connectivity, by using both AI and Internet of Things technology. To be precise, they have decided to use AI to control IoT devices at your home and in your vehicle.
These car manufacturers have collaborated with Alibaba to bring their Tmall Genie into their cars. The Tmall Genie service is proposed to show up in Volvo’s XC90. S90 and XC60 models. Both Audi and Daimler has not revealed the range of models, which will sport the Alibaba AI.
The head of Alibaba A.I Labs, Lijuan Chen said: “Cars are an environment, alongside the home and the office, where individuals spend a significant amount of time, and which through connectivity can become an important part of life,”
Since Tmall Genie only supports Chinese languages, the current plan is to roll out the models only in China. With the integration of Tmall Genie, the users can know information about their car as well as control home appliances all through their voices.
As Hans Georg Engel remarked, “Through this cooperation with Alibaba in connectivity, our focus is on human-centric innovations that provide our customers with a digital experience, both in and outside the vehicle, in order to meet their changing needs,” he is the head of Mercedes‐Benz Research and Development China.
Alibaba A.I development team is hard at work to make the integration seamless as possible. The smart device was launched in July 2017 in China and has sold over 2 million units in the country.
Tmall Genie home pods are available in China for as less as 72$. Hence, it is one of the most popular in China. With the integration of Tmall Genie, both the automakers and Alibaba are to gain from such a collaboration.
