AI is getting into the fast lane and descending on cars next with all-knowing voice assistants to help drivers on their journey.
Vehicles in the near future will be more personalised and intelligent than ever, with the ability to see your calendar appointments and automatically guide you where you need to be.
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It’ll also keep an eye on the driver and warm them if they appear to be getting drowsy, automatically suggesting where to pull over for a coffee break.
AI car assistants will be able to call out interesting landmarks and tell you the names of restaurants you drove by and missed too.
It’ll even remember important road signs you passed and recall what they said.
These are the sorts of features that might be on your car’s cockpit in the future following the announcement of a partnership between Google and US chip maker Qualcomm, the company behind Manchester United shirt sponsor Snapdragon.
The pair will use Snapdragon Digital Chassis and Google’s in-vehicle technologies, building on the existing Android Automotive OS and Google Cloud.
Automakers will be able to use the joint offering and Google’s AI technology to create voice assistants that are unique to an automaker and can work without relying on a driver’s phone.
“Typically, we have operated together, but independently – we plan a lot of things together, but we go to customers separately,” Nakul Duggal, group manager for automotive at Qualcomm, said of the new partnership.
“We decided we should think about this differently because it will reduce a lot of friction and confusion.”
Qualcomm has traditionally focused heavily on building the essential chips to power smartphones for the likes of Samsung, OnePlus and many more Android brands.
But the US tech firm is looking to broaden its processing expertise to other areas like automotive.
As well as the Google partnership announcement, the firm also revealed new platforms to enable car makers to supercharge their own AI in-vehicle experiences.
This will be made possible with new Snapdragon Cockpit Elite chips.
Mercedes-Benz is one of the first manufacturers to ink a deal.
Another new Qualcomm chip, called Snapdragon Ride Elite, was unveiled for self-driving features.
However, it’s not clear when we will see these sorts of technologies adopted into any cars.
Why chips matter
By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun
You may think that processing chips are for geeks.
But if you hate it whenever your phone gets slow or laggy, you might want to pay more attention to this tech.
The finer details can be very complex, such as the GHz (gigahertz) which measures the speed that electronic components are able to process instructions from software whenever you so much as tap an app or play a game.
Apple has its own chips for the iPhone, as does Google for the Pixel.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon is one of the bigger players that other household names like Samsung use.
Most of the powerful smartphones around at the moment use Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 – but many newly launched phones are set to use the upgraded tech announced today, known as Snapdragon 8 Elite.
More premium phones tend to use the most recent, powerful chips on the market.
Of course, chips are essential to many every day devices, not just phones – even cars, especially as more “infotainment” is pushed into the cockpit and beyond.