Growing virtual personal assistant market expands significantly into new vehicles, says IHS Markit

Siri and other virtual personal assistants (VPAs) are the latest conveniences to gain popularity and use in today’s vehicles. Nearly 700 million of these software platforms will be enabled in vehicles – whether embedded, through mobile devices or via connection via home devices – by 2024, according to the latest forecast for these systems from business information provider IHS Markit.

VPAs in vehicles are expected to be a hot topic at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, beginning next week. It’s feasible some vehicles may have multiple VPAs, with varying levels of functionality. Three major VPA formats are being tracked closely by IHS Markit analysts and forecasts, as follows:

Embedded VPA

A system in which the software stack for the speech recognition system (SRS) and natural language understanding (NLU) are partially stored locally on the vehicle. These solutions traditionally use an onboard telematics unit and usually require a telematics subscription to function. This type of VPA also have access to internal microphones and all integration protocols within the vehicle.

These solutions use locally-stored information for quick responses for things like wake word verification (such as “Alexa”, “Hey Siri” or “OK, Google”) and for tasks that are most often used in the car, such as HVAC commands and phone calls. More complex tasks, such as controlling a smart-home device or looking up a points-of-interest, happens in the cloud.

Currently, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are projected to become the first embedded solutions available. Google Assistant Embedded will be available only on infotainment head units using Android Automotive operating systems, while Amazon Alexa would be available across a wide range of infotainment software solutions. IHS Markit forecasts there will be approximately 12 million light vehicles with this type of system on the roads by 2024.

VPA, via smartphone integration only

These types of systems will potentially be the most prominent in the future, according to IHS Markit. More than 300 million light vehicles will include this type of VPA system by 2024, according to IHS Markit forecasts, and typically only have access to the in-vehicle voice recognition (VR) middleware, internal microphones and integration protocols in the vehicle.

However the solutions can also rely exclusively on microphones in the cell phone too. The processing and functionality of the VPA is housed within a smartphone integration software framework, such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto or SmartDeviceLink (SDL). These solutions interpret voice commands that are sent to vehicle voice recognition (VR) systems and can control apps within the middleware solution, such as SDL, but not control the in-vehicle radio/HVAC.

In addition, non-display oriented traditional Alexa commands like “play music from Amazon Music” or “shopping” can also be used. Some limited in-vehicle controls are available as well. For instance, all systems can control the internal Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers if the head unit has embedded navigation.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can also control in-vehicle systems such as HVAC/radio through their smartphone integration frameworks, however automakers have not taken advantage of this and IHS Markit expects that none of them will. SmartDeviceLink is likely to have deeper control over in-vehicle systems, such as an “eco coach” or usage-based insurance, however it is unknown if Alexa would have control over such systems.

Device-to-Car only

These are solutions that can send commands that originate from a home device, such as Amazon Echo or Google Home, to the car. The functionality of these systems range, but typically use a smart home device to send directions or start your car remotely, but are unable to control anything within the car. There will be nearly 40 million light vehicles with these types of systems on the road by 2024, according to IHS Markit forecasts.

While Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa make inroads in the car, some OEMs are nervous of ceding control of voice to the IT industry, just the same as some are leery of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

“The challenge in bringing an OEM-sourced VPA to market is huge,” said Colin Bird-Martinez, senior analyst of automotive software and services at IHS Markit. “Automakers are still outsourcing much of their service architecture to third parties. It is not unusual for an OEM to own its connected car services but create an ecosystem of suppliers and partners for each function of the service itself.”

This would be the same challenge facing OEMs if/when they were to deploy an OEM-sourced VPA. Managing this in-house requires learning, investment, competency, capacity and flexibility in the realm of cloud services. However, this investment will be justified in building out an OEM-branded experience, something that Apple, Amazon, Baidu, Google and others cannot deliver.“This brand experience would blend the best of speech recognition technology seamlessly into the vehicle,” Bird-Martinez said.

Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @IoTNow_OR @jcIoTnow

RECENT ARTICLES

OpenText Europe: AI for growth and sustainability

Posted on: March 19, 2024

OpenText, the information company, is set to host OpenText World Europe 2024 April 15 – 18, 2024, with a series of in-person customer conferences taking place in London, Munich and Paris. The event series will bring together industry leaders, innovators and customers to discuss how technology can enable global organisations to build for growth, experience and sustainability.

Read more

Surrey leads new £8 million FORT centre for advancing secure networks

Posted on: March 18, 2024

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) announced that Surrey’s 5G/6G Innovation Centre will lead a new £8 million Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Open Secure Networks (FORT). 

Read more
FEATURED IoT STORIES

What is IoT? A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on: April 5, 2023

What is IoT? IoT, or the Internet of Things, refers to the connection of everyday objects, or “things,” to the internet, allowing them to collect, transmit, and share data. This interconnected network of devices transforms previously “dumb” objects, such as toasters or security cameras, into smart devices that can interact with each other and their

Read more

The IoT Adoption Boom – Everything You Need to Know

Posted on: September 28, 2022

In an age when we seem to go through technology boom after technology boom, it’s hard to imagine one sticking out. However, IoT adoption, or the Internet of Things adoption, is leading the charge to dominate the next decade’s discussion around business IT. Below, we’ll discuss the current boom, what’s driving it, where it’s going,

Read more

9 IoT applications that will change everything

Posted on: September 1, 2021

Whether you are a future-minded CEO, tech-driven CEO or IT leader, you’ve come across the term IoT before. It’s often used alongside superlatives regarding how it will revolutionize the way you work, play, and live. But is it just another buzzword, or is it the as-promised technological holy grail? The truth is that Internet of

Read more

Which IoT Platform 2021? IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide

Posted on: August 30, 2021

There are several different parts in a complete IoT solution, all of which must work together to get the result needed, write IoT Now Enterprise Buyers’ Guide – Which IoT Platform 2021? authors Robin Duke-Woolley, the CEO and Bill Ingle, a senior analyst, at Beecham Research. Figure 1 shows these parts and, although not all

Read more

CAT-M1 vs NB-IoT – examining the real differences

Posted on: June 21, 2021

As industry players look to provide the next generation of IoT connectivity, two different standards have emerged under release 13 of 3GPP – CAT-M1 and NB-IoT.

Read more

IoT and home automation: What does the future hold?

Posted on: June 10, 2020

Once a dream, home automation using iot is slowly but steadily becoming a part of daily lives around the world. In fact, it is believed that the global market for smart home automation will reach $40 billion by 2020.

Read more

5 challenges still facing the Internet of Things

Posted on: June 3, 2020

The Internet of Things (IoT) has quickly become a huge part of how people live, communicate and do business. All around the world, web-enabled devices are turning our world into a more switched-on place to live.

Read more