What was the most surprising thing I had at the Beijing Auto Show will.i.am?
Many post-90s and post-00s may not know much about will.i.am, but after I talk about a hip-hop group, you will suddenly realize that Black Eyed Peas (Black Eyed Peas), will.i.am is one of the members. This group conquered many post-80s generations who liked hip-hop at that time, and won many Grammy Awards.
Here's the thing, Mercedes-AMG unveiled a very emotionally valuable feature at the 2024 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), "Fun on the Go", the world's first immersive music interaction technology applied to a production vehicle, which was jointly launched with will.i.am.
At the Mercedes-AMG Driving Academy at the end of April, we experienced this feature, which in a nutshell means that the car and the people create music together. When driving a car with a deep throttle or a sharp turn on the steering wheel, "Joy on the Go" accurately captures signal parameters such as acceleration and braking, energy recuperation and steering angle, so that the music changes in real time with the driving dynamics, and you can enjoy the fun of creating "music" with the integration of people and vehicles.
Before going to the Mercedes-Benz interview, the organizers told us that the main target of the interview was Markus Schäfer, a member of the board of directors and chief technology officer of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, which is responsible for development and purchasing. But when I walked into the interview room of the Mercedes-Benz booth and saw a character who often appeared on the album cover, I was pleasantly surprised, and Mercedes-Benz invited will.i.am to talk to us about Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz understands crossover
Mr. Xue Fuming (right) and will.i.am (left)
Mr. Xue Fuming said that he and will.i.am are good friends, and the reason why there is this cooperation is because in his opinion, "people's perception ability is multi-dimensional, and the rapid development of intelligent cockpit technology gives us the opportunity to interact and communicate more with customers through the cockpit in different sensory dimensions." ”
Mercedes-Benz is a brand that focuses on emotional experience and wants to create an emotional connection between people and cars. If the purpose of the trip is only to get from A to B, then any car will do the trick. But if you have more individual needs and want to get a good sensory experience through the emotional experience of the car, then Mercedes-Benz must be the best choice.
I especially agree with what Mr. Xue Fuming said, being able to provide emotional value and emotional value is the sublimation of a brand product. Mercedes-Benz hired will.i.am to be the brand ambassador for Mercedes-AMG, and worked with him to create the world's first immersive music interaction technology for production vehicles, the "Fun on the Go" function.
He has worked with many brands and top artists such as Michael Jackson, but working with Mercedes-Benz gives him more inspiration and a sense will.i.am of accomplishment.
"Working with Mercedes-Benz is the most creative and rewarding for me, because our goals and ideas are very similar," will.i.am said. In my opinion, Mercedes-Benz is the world's best luxury car brand, whether it is the performance, materials, technology, engineering design and luxury experience of the vehicle, it is currently the best in the world. The 'Fun on the Go' feature has dramatically changed the way listeners interact with music. People can not only listen to music, but also interact with it, and even participate in the creation of music in a whole new way. The in-cabin music experience isn't just about playing, fast-forwarding, pausing, raising or lowering the volume, it's an immersive music interaction that opens up a new dimension to the in-cabin music experience. As a result, the 'Fun on the Go' feature is one of my most important accomplishments, even surpassing the Grammys I've won. Because it's unprecedented, beyond imagination. ”
In the future, Mercedes-Benz also plans to attract more musicians to create music for the "Fun on the Go" feature. Around 2025, the Black Eyed Peas will create a music piece tailored to the "Fun on the Go" feature.
Mercedes understands feelings
AT THIS YEAR'S BEIJING AUTO SHOW, MERCEDES-BENZ NOT ONLY BROUGHT THE NEW PURE ELECTRIC G-CLASS OFF-ROAD VEHICLE, THE ALL-NEW AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE and many other new cars, but also brought the CLA-class concept car to the auto show site, showing the audience the future of Mercedes-Benz's electrification and digitalization built by the MMA platform and MB.OS.
At the 2024 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Mercedes-Benz unveiled the new MBUX virtual assistant based on the MB.OS operating system, which has four characteristics: "natural", "predictable", "personalized" and "empathetic". For the first time, we saw the word "empathy" at the technology conference of the car company, and Mr. Xue Fuming explained that "the new MBUX virtual assistant can recognize the emotions of the interlocutor and respond with the language style of the corresponding emotion, and have emotional resonance with the customer, which is empathy." For example, when a customer is in a cheerful mood, the new MBUX virtual assistant also conducts conversations in a happy language style. If it recognizes that the customer is sad or angry, it will respond with the same emotion. ”
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Directors and Chief Technology Officer, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
Respond to emotions with emotions, Mercedes-Benz understands psychology, just like when we comfort people, if the other party is sad, we don't want to say that you don't want to be sad, but silently accompany him, respond with his emotions, and let the other party slowly resolve.
When a car gets along with you in addition to transportation and travel partners, and adds emotional connection, then the car is fresh and emotional, just like our pets, providing us with emotional value and emotional value. At this time, the car can not only provide us with the convenience of travel, but also let us get emotional satisfaction.
This is also emphasized by Mr. Xue Fuming, "With the intelligent cockpit, the role played by Mercedes-Benz cars has changed dramatically, whether it is a game center, a music center, a movie theater and a SPA, or it can be a friend who chats with you and an AI assistant that helps you complete tasks...... With the 'Fun on the Go' feature, the car can even become your musical instrument. With so many features, the car is more than just a means of transportation, it will become your important companion and an indispensable part of your life. ”
As a musician, will.i.am also agrees, "For the music industry, the intelligent cockpit has brought new possibilities for the creation mode of music, and musicians can use the many innovative elements in the intelligent cockpit to create music and explore new ways of artistic expression." The 'Fun on the Go' feature is just the beginning of this trend. In the future, more artists may be inspired by the 'Fun on the Go' feature and generate new inspirations. I can imagine how MB.OS will open up a brilliant and rich new creative world for art creators in the future, so that they can have more space for expression in the intelligent cockpit to create art and exert their creativity. It will even produce new business formats and open up new business models. ”
Talking to Mr. Xue Fuming and will.i.am about Mercedes-Benz, not only the surprise of the fan girl to see the idol, but also opened up the pattern, the relationship between the car and music has changed in the past hundred years, the car is not simply the carrier of playing music, but has become one of the tools of music creation;
As Mr. Xue Fuming said at the end of the interview: In the future, automobiles will have infinite possibilities. This is Mercedes-Benz's definition of the car of the future and where we are headed.