BMW has announced that its vehicles and some Mini vehicles will begin incorporating Amazon Alexa into its interior starting in the middle of 2018. As one of the biggest AI assistants on the market, it’s exciting to see Amazon Alexa stepping up to bigger opportunities with bigger (and more mobile) technology. It is claimed to provide an absolutely complete arsenal of online abilities right in the comfort of your vehicle. Vehicles will embed microphones into the car and Alexa will be accompanied by a display screen. While the complete list of possible commands is yet unknown, we can be sure that the basic Alexa commands such as requesting daily news and weather will be readily available, along with the the capability to utilize third-party applications such as Starbucks.
Many drivers fiddle with their phones while on the wheel, and while they claim to be absolutely safe about it, it really isn’t safe if you’re committing to a screen when you should be attentive to the road. Alexa will extinguish the risk of tapping at your phone while driving, since it can carry out many tasks (such as playing music, online shopping, or texting) when requested by voice. The integration of Alexa into vehicles isn’t just for luxury or comfort, it’s also a great addition to minimize safety risks.
This is a big step for Amazon, but it isn’t the first car brand to recognize Alexa for her AI potential on the road. Earlier this same year, Ford unveiled a series of cars that will have the technology to sync Alexa devices to the vehicles, meaning they can use voice commands to carry out simple tasks such as unlocking the doors and starting the car.
BMW has announced that Amazon Alexa will be a possibility for all 2018 models, and Minis (mid-2017 models only).