Why your home and car will soon talk to each other
YOUR car may already feel like an extension of your home based on the hodgepodge of stuff collecting in the backseat, but it’s apparent that technology will soon make the two more connected than ever.
No one has proposed blurring the line more than Hyundai – which unveiled a futuristic concept car last week that literally connects to the home via a hole in the wall. Hyundai envisions the car becoming a lounge-like extension of the living space that provides air conditioning and entertainment, and acts as a back-up generator.
“By seamlessly blending features from the car with home and work environments, the user experience is uninterrupted whether socialising, working at home, or on the move,” Hak Su Ha, Hyundai’s design centre director, said in a news release.
But even if cars never plug into the home physically, they will digitally. As vehicles increasingly come outfitted with internet connections and on-board operating systems, it’s enabled them to “speak” with other smart devices inside and outside the vehicle. That means carmakers can link cars to artificial intelligence systems inside the home - and eventually build AI into the car itself.
The hope is these systems will make the driving experience more convenient and personalised, and open the door to new features and services.
“This voice- activated digital platform becomes the glue that is binding these diverse and separate technologies together,” said Shawn DuBravac, a futurist and chief economist at the Consumer Technology Association.
“There’s no reason that can’t extend beyond the home,” he added. “I think the car is a very natural extension.”
Both Ford and Volkswagen announced plans to integrate Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, into its cars in the next year. Owners of Amazon Echos can already command Alexa to play music, buy merchandise, order pizza and do other relatively simple tasks using just their voice.