Recently, Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will provide in-depth Alexa (Amazon Voice Assistant) integration services for more than 200,000 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.
At that point, with a simple password, the driver can complete a variety of requests without having to touch the car screen. For example, "Alexa, navigate me to home," "Show me a nearby café," "Is my car locked and fully charged..."
(Source: Jaguar Land Rover)
Jaguar Land Rover says voice control has become simpler and more intuitive by seamlessly integrating Alexa, allowing customers to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times, reducing unnecessary maneuvers and focusing their attention on the road.
It is understood that the Alexa on Jaguar and Land Rover can be used without mobile phones, which can help drivers play music, conduct line navigation and broadcast news, weather content, and control smart home devices.
In addition, with Alexa, users can even remotely adjust the temperature in the car indoors, check the remaining mileage, and lock or unlock the vehicle.
Alex Heslop, Director of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, said: "The seamless integration of Amazon Alexa with our Pivi Pro infotainment system enriches the customer driving experience. This proves the value of over-the-air software updates and represents a further enhancement of our Internet service capabilities. ”
Compared to other automakers, Jaguar Land Rover allows users to update their system software wirelessly without having to send their vehicles to retailers for updates, allowing users to quickly enjoy the latest technological developments.
It's worth noting that although Alexa will be available as a free OTA (Over the Air) software, there are certain limitations. Jaguar Land Rover said: "The online package is suitable for S-size packages and above. Vehicles must have a Pivi Pro infotainment system and a valid online suite subscription to enable Alexa. ”
At the same time, the Pivi Pro system must also reach version 3.0 or higher, and this requirement may result in some existing vehicles needing to be updated multiple times to upgrade to the specified version, and for some owners, this may even be achieved through the car dealership. In addition, users must have a valid Amazon account.
Christian Mentz, head of Alexa Automotive International, stressed the importance of working closely with Jaguar Land Rover. "Customers around the world interact with Alexa billions of times a week, making their lives easier, more productive and more fun. We are delighted to be able to offer Jaguar and Land Rover customers the same convenient experience." Alexa's new features and capabilities will automatically be added to customers' vehicles over time. ”
It is worth mentioning that the in-depth cooperation with Jaguar Land Rover on Alexa has taken the development of Amazon's voice assistants a step further, before that, Alexa was only an auxiliary voice option for digital assistants in some cars or a single application on the dashboard.
Amazon will focus on the automotive market from the beginning of 2021 and maximize alexa opening up, allowing automakers to better integrate their voice assistants into vehicles. It also gives Amazon the opportunity to build its software directly into the car.
Amazon calls its new product Alexa Custom Assistant. It is understood that Amazon opened Alexa not only for automakers, it is committed to serving any customer who needs a digital voice assistant. Amazon will allow other companies to set custom wake words for Alexa and add all Alexa-compatible features, giving users a better software control experience.
"Building an intelligent voice assistant is a complex, time-consuming, and costly thing to do. In addition, for assistants to become smarter, they need to be continuously improved and innovated, which requires a lot of continuous investment," Amazon said, "device manufacturers can use Alexa Custom Assistant to create their own intelligent assistants without long development cycles and large investments, while also saving various resources for voice assistant maintenance." ”
However, while Amazon allows many consumer electronics companies to integrate Alexa into related products, it is understood that it has not authorized the use of Alexa's underlying AI technology in other digital voice assistants.
At present, in the automotive field, the competition for voice assistants has been very fierce.
For companies like Amazon, Google, and Apple, the automotive space is a very large market, and in-car screens are a key point they need to capture.
On the integration of Alexa, Amazon has reached deals with some automakers, such as a partnership with Lamborghini and electric vehicle startup Rivian earlier in 2021. However, there is still a certain gap between this and the seamless use experience of the software provided by Apple and Google.
A big advantage for Google and Apple is that they have their own mobile operating systems and have built their own in-car systems, Android Auto and CarPlay, respectively.
On mobile phones, Apple's Siri and Google's Google Assistant dominate. Instead of adopting a strategy of direct competition with Apple and Google, Amazon has strategically used smart homes as an entry point, gaining a large market share in the field and making up for the disadvantages on mobile phones.
Similarly, in the automotive space, Amazon is trying to make Alexa a built-in app service that breaks away from mobile phones.
Amazon says its intent is to give other companies an easier, cheaper way to tailor their voice services.
Finally, it's unclear whether Amazon charges for ai technology to manufacturers.
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reference:
https://media.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2022/02/jaguar-land-rover-introduces-amazon-alexa-across-its-vehicle-portfolio-0
https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/4/22917857/jaguar-land-rover-alexa-ota-software-update
https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/15/22231336/amazon-alexa-auto-ai-custom-digital-assistants-car-makers