Fatima Vital, senior director automotive marketing, Nuance outlines how in-car technology could transform the driving experience
The driving experience is ultimately a personal one. Some drivers will want information about their route or fuel levels, where other ones will be focused on what they will be doing once they arrive at their destination.
With the advent of new technology, such as virtual personal assistants, we no longer have to seek that insight out ourselves. Cars finding this sort of information out for us is expected to be much more commonplace in the future.
In fact, Gartner predicts that there will be a quarter of a billion connected vehicles on the road by 2020. In-car personal assistants, with a deep understanding of the car itself, as well as the ability to meet any driver’s individual needs, have the potential to transform the in-car experience. The technology can enable not only personalisation but enhanced safety and control as well as entertainment.
New research – commissioned by Nuance Communications and carried out by YouGov – has revealed the biggest frustrations for UK drivers and how in-car virtual assistants could help alleviate these concerns. Top of the list for frustrations on the road were, predictably, time wasted in traffic. But, following traffic, a lack of insight into parking at any given destination and getting lost also topped the list.
The research also showed that drivers would like their car to act as their guide on the road, to help them deal with diagnostics, to report issues, and to show them how to use new features. Pre-emptively showing that they don’t have enough fuel to complete a journey or that they will arrive late are also features drivers are asking for.
Tapping into the Internet of Things (IoT), there is an opportunity for in-car technology to notify drivers of delays on the road and suggest an alternative route in real-time. For those driving a bigger vehicle, in-car technology has the potential to book a larger family sized parking space ahead of time at their destination.
Critically, in-car technology can tap into the power of machine learning to adapt to the driver’s preferences over time. This enables the car to deliver a truly personalised driving experience by tailoring suggestions and services to fit the driver’s individual profile.
While this might sound a little far-fetched, with today’s technology, it is all possible. We all have different needs on the road. And as one of the most disperse group of individuals – representing all adult age-groups and types of people – drivers all demand and enjoy different aspects of being on the road.
Drivers are also asking for a more advanced method of securing access to their car. A total of 35 per cent of UK drivers would prefer biometrics – either face or voice technology – that can identify them instead of traditional car keys. These findings underline a mentality shift, with drivers now more willing than ever to embrace technology in cars.
The majority (65 per cent) also said they’d like an in-car assistant to learn from them and their past behaviour to deliver a better driving experience. More than a third (39 per cent) want their car to remember their preferred routes, while another third (35 per cent) want it to remember their individual preferences on the road.
All of this is very much possible with intuitive artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which bridges the gap between the car and the driver. Driving doesn’t represent the same activity for everyone, with some considering it a chore and others a pastime. Therefore, the key for automakers is delivering technology the meets the needs of each of these individuals.
By capturing key information on drivers’ preferred destinations and past-times, in-car digital assistant technology provides a more humanised driving experience – helping us spend less time on the road and more time doing what we enjoy.
Let’s keep it simple.
By all means offer complexity at the cost of those requesting it, however please ensure there is a large Turn it Off facility for those of us who do not need nor want all these unnecessary toys.
After seeing a video of what a hacker could do to a Jeep, I would not purchase any vehicle that could not have its network connection to the world at large disabled.
Until the manufacturers can prove to all that their systems are secure against remote hacking, this technology will be a potential target for some vindictive nasty individuals or groups to cause utter chaos on our roads, and danger to the road users. I’m with Ken, a big OFF button is needed!
I am amazed. Where did they find all these people demanding these features. Are we maybe talking about marketers’ wish lists?
It strikes me that a lot of these features require additional expenses. Fair enough for business people – but for the rest of us?
Many of these features will be built into smartphones in the future. My 2 year old Mercedes came with a good, if clunky, Sat Nav and Bluetooth, things we all scoffed at 10 years ago. My daughter just bought a Corsa, no sat Nav (although standard Bluetooth for calls) but she just plugs her phone into the car via USB and essentials (Sat Nav, Contacts, Music etc.) are mimicked on the cars touch screen. Voice control is built in so she can set the Sat Nav without messing about with the screen. Eventually our smartphones will determine the whole process, integrating with its diary, for example, so it tells the car where it’s going, calling ahead for parking, traffic and weather conditions etc. possibly making a hotel reservation, booking meals etc. The car will be a dumb terminal until the right phone arrives with the right person (facial recognition along with the phone and perhaps fingerprint ID on the door handle) which enhances security. Tesla cars can already drive themselves (and yes, I know about the guy who died recently but millions have died without self-driving facilities). There may even be the eventual possibility for ‘insurance by mile’ perhaps. Why are we paying fully comprehensive insurance while a car’s in a garage overnight? The greatest risk for any insurance company is when the cars being driven. If a smartphone is necessary to drive a particular car, it can surely also activate insurance automatically as soon as the car reaches a public road. As she’s just passed her driving test my daughter has a telematics box that communicates her driving to her insurance company anyway, why can’t that be converted into ‘insurance by mile’ then she wouldn’t be asked for £2,500 for insurance.
Hello Government, police, hackers, ambulance chasers, wife and anyone else who wants to know – here is my location, my destination, length of time I took to get there, how long I stayed etc.
Apart from the necessary commute I drive/ride to get away from all this c**p! Just me and the machine. I want to keep it that way so it looks like classic cars and bikes from here on in.
As I always say anyone who likes the sound of all this has not read or watched enough sci-fi !!!
Hey, if all this technology works, and, I quote, “…helping us spend less time on the road and more time doing what we enjoy.”, that is just fantastic news! This is clearly aimed at people who DON’T want to be driving. I’m all for getting such car users off the roads as quickly as possible. Leaving the roads a bit clearer for me and my idiot motorcycle…..
Agree with you Tim. In fact if we could get all the people who fancy this sort of thing strapped into the VR chair with intravenous feeding and just leave them there the roads would be much more fun and loads safer when out on our bikes !
As a car driver and a motorcyclist I would like to see drivers concentrating on driving and nothing else. It should be illegal for the driver to be able to reach the sat nav from his seat, if he wants to change the route use voice commands or get out into the passenger seat, set it and go on your way. There should be a mesh that prevents mobile phones from working in a car. There is nothing more dangerous than a distracted person moving tons of metal.
D Redfern’s remarkable analysis set me thinking about other elements of our lives.
Insurance is a bet (surely just as one on a horse) that you actually hope you lose! [ie your house, car, holiday, health, etc are not ‘first’ in the ‘race’ and so you have to make a claim!] How many other things we have to pay for are similar. We have to pay for them whether we need them or not! -so that some ‘sham’ makes a living. Yes, generations ago, when only ‘they'(those at the summit) were educated (even if only in religion law or conflict) they could laud it over the rest of we proles. But, as I have opined often, those who can manipulate Nature’s laws are taking greater and greater control. Tipping point, anti-establishment votes (Brexit & Trump) questioning of the right of the Right to always be so…part of the same pattern?