Amazon brings Alexa digital assistant along for the ride with Toyota
Amazon is working to bring its Alexa digital assistant out of the home and into the wild by way of a partnership with Toyota that will see the smart home gadget incorporated under the bonnet of future vehicles.
Amazon brings Alexa digital assistant along for the ride with Toyota
The tie-up marks the latest step in Amazon’s onward march to attain global domination via the device by integrating it within all aspects of consumers' lives, with the assistant first emerging on select Toyota and Lexus models this prior to a wider fleet roll out in 2019.
Automakers are scrabbling to understand what voice activated software could mean for the future of driving but the tool will initially be put to use relaying directions, dictating news and activating onboard entertainment.
Looking ahead John Scumniotales, head of products for Alexa’s automobile wing, is confident that the technology can be put to far more ambitious use: “It’s still really day one for us in terms of what we can do with Alexa in the vehicle.”
Toyota’s Amazon embrace follows similar deals signed with BMW, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai and Nissan.
Amazon's Alexa push has already seen it introduce its cylindrical oracle to Asia for the first time as companies begin to cotton on to its advertising potential.