Cutting-edge in-car AI assistant taking the driving experience to new heights
A unique feature of virtual personal assistants (VPAs) designed for in-car use is that they can learn specific driver behaviour. Thanks to VPAs, the automotive industry is making great progress towards maximum convenience and connectivity in cars. The EU-funded SHERPA-CAR project introduced technology to help automotive companies drive their digital transformation efforts by adding conversational intelligence to their vehicles. “This will get their products to the market sooner, while maintaining ownership and control of their data as they improve brand experience,” comments coordinator Iker Velez de Mendizabal.
Connected cars that know their drivers
The SHERPA-CAR team developed an intelligent VPA based on powerful AI algorithms to make the in-car experience unique, safer, and more enjoyable and beneficial. The AI engine bases its recommendations on the preferences of vehicle owners to offer real-time information relevant to them. This information is presented via audio, text or visual means in a series of predefined categories customised to each user, including weather, traffic, sports, interest points, events, movies, TV, news and humour. “The novel solution picks up on user behaviour, providing drivers with information they will need or want to know without having to ask for it,” explains Velez de Mendizabal. “The intuitive and friendly design’s revolutionary visual format allows them to understand and interact with this information in an agile way.” The VPA collects and processes driver and car data to offer an enhanced driving experience. The conversational and natural language processing functionalities enable the innovation to perform various tasks, answer many different questions, and make recommendations and predictions in a proactive way. Currently operating in English and Spanish, it’s easily customisable to other languages, including minority languages such as Basque.
Driving made more efficient, personalised and interactive
Car manufacturers are able to install the cost-efficient, hands-free solution and select the domains they want. As a result, drivers can ask questions, find nearby restaurants and petrol stations, or receive suggestions about activities, TV programmes, concerts and movies depending on the destination. What’s more, the VPA is compatible with a broad range of infotainment systems. The product is ready for the market after demonstrating that it can meet identified business needs, challenges and opportunities. The consortium has already established contacts with several major automotive and IT industry players. The VPA will not only transform the infotainment system sector with a predictive and proactive solution, it also intends to compete directly with VPAs developed by tech giants such as Apple, Google and Microsoft. “SHERPA-CAR’s VPA platform, innovative AI engine and natural language processing technologies understand exactly what drivers want by anticipating their needs,” concludes Velez de Mendizabal. “So many in-car commands are available, simply by having a conversation with the vehicle.”
Keywords
SHERPA-CAR, car, driver, automotive, vehicle, virtual personal assistant, natural language processing, infotainment
