Sony and its partner Honda had been trying to produce the Afeela, a technologically advanced electric car, for years, but that ended this spring, all but dismantling the joint venture. However, progress on the project will be useful for a new initiative from Sony itself, which involves creating artificial intelligence assistants for vehicles.
Image source: Sony
as explained Nikkei Asian ReviewTo humanize its AI assistant, Sony even created Wichef, a fictional character whose appearance combines the characteristics of a cartoon sheep and a rabbit. It will appear on in-car infotainment displays in vehicles where manufacturers and operators choose to partner with Sony in this area. We’re not just talking about private cars, but also rental vehicles, buses and trains. AI assistants will gain a fairly broad range of capabilities, combining the handling of typical automotive requests with more complex tasks typical of modern chatbots.
Wichef will also appear on users’ smartphones, allowing them to better understand a specific person’s living and working environment. Sony plans to charge customers for access to its technology ecosystem. The AI assistant that continues to learn will continue to improve and identify users’ needs more and more accurately. He will speak in the voice of a professional voice actor, which Sony says should make interacting with him more natural and enjoyable.
Beyond that, Sony has developed its own features to avoid potential problems that arise when using other people’s intellectual property. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global transportation artificial intelligence assistant market will grow 4.7 times from last year to US$19.8 billion by 2034.
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