TomTom Adds AI to In-Cabin Voice Assistant

Mapping specialist TomTom is bringing generative artificial intelligence into the driver’s cockpit in a bid to enhance its navigation system’s user experience.

The company has teamed up with Microsoft to offer the technology to automakers in its integrated, AI-powered conversational automotive assistant. Now the system will claim a more sophisticated voice interaction with infotainment, location search and vehicle command systems.

TomTom says drivers can now talk naturally with their vehicle and ask the voice assistant to navigate to a certain location, find specific stops along their route and vocally control onboard systems to, for instance, turn up the temperature, open windows or change radio stations.

The system integrates Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to take advantage of a large selection of languages in addition to Azure Kubernetes Services, Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Cognitive Services. The technology can be installed into other existing automotive infotainment systems, speeding up the time-to-market for many automaker brands. The solution is also built into TomTom’s Digital Cockpit, an open, modular in-vehicle infotainment platform. 

Mike Schoofs, TomTom’s chief revenue officer, says: “Leveraging our navigation and technology expertise, we’re creating a groundbreaking new way for people to interact with their vehicles. With both companies integrating what they do best into one solution, we’re transforming the in-vehicle experience, enabling drivers to ask their car for anything and trust it will deliver.”