Mercedes Benz Takes In-Car Voice Control to the Next Level
The Future of a Car’s Infotainment System is here. Mercedes, on 16th June, announced that it will soon include ChatGPT in its infotainment system through the MBUX beta program.)
Do You Own a Mercedes Mbux Vehicle?
Soon, Mercedes owners in the US will be able to upgrade their vehicles with ChatGPT to MBUX vehicles via Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service Although it’s unclear what it might be used for, the manufacturer is incorporating OpenAI’s conversational AI agent into its MBUX infotainment system.
After all, an automobile is a rather strictly regulated place. A voice interface is occasionally the safest or best way to perform fundamental automobile functions like driving, navigation, and media control while keeping one’s eyes on the road.
ChatGPT, on the other hand, specializes in appearing human while producing new facts to keep the discussion moving along when engaging in a back-and-forth on any subject.
An Added Layer of Security through Voice Assistant
Users will have access to a voice assistant that can carry on a conversation in addition to responding to natural voice commands. With their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road, participants will soon be able to query the Voice Assistant for more information. This includes requesting assistance with a difficult problem, a new supper recipe, or directions. Customers can sign up through the Mercedes Me app or by saying into their car, “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program.”
For a standard voice interface, a question like “What’s a good independent sandwich shop on my route that’s within half a mile of a petrol station” would be too challenging. If you don’t have a passenger to look that up for you, having that feature would be helpful. Who requests a recipe for a fresh supper when traveling? Is that the best use case they could come up with?
What Benefits will it Deliver?
The “Hey Mercedes” voice command feature of the MBUX Voice Assistant will become even more user-friendly with the addition of ChatGPT. The benefits of the technology are, as usual, a bit speculative, and it’s safe to assume that no driver asked for this feature. It’s possible that Mercedes is simply too worn out to manage its voice interface service and would prefer to hand it off to someone else.
Customers can sign up using the Mercedes Me app or by saying the phrase “Hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program” into their car. The beta program will be sent out over the radio. By utilizing the business-grade features of Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform, Mercedes-Benz is integrating ChatGPT through Azure OpenAI Service.
The voice command information gathered is anonymized and analyzed before being stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud.
Mercedes Benz engineers will gain important knowledge about specific requirements, enabling them to specify precise goals for improving voice control. The beta test comments will be used to further refine the user-friendly voice assistant, and a plan will be chosen for deploying large language models in new markets and languages.
Conclusion
ChatGPT can improve the driving experience by offering information, support, and back-and-forth talks, even though the precise use cases for it in a regulated car environment are still unknown. The use of technology may be advantageous for tasks like locating nearby amenities or resolving issues while the driver is still paying attention to the road. Mercedes hopes to improve the voice assistant through beta testing, customer input and investigate broader deployment in various regions and languages.