“With Alexa, drivers can keep their hands on the steering wheel and their eyes on the road,” Volvo says.
First, IVECO has announced plans to launch a voice service that allows drivers to use their voice to manage route planning, check vehicle maintenance and health status and request driving tips, it says. In addition, the service can operate cab controls by voice.
The service has been designed IVECO digital with the support of Amazon Web Services professional services including the Amazon Alexa voice interface, its machine learning and serverless capabilities.
Fabrizio Conicella, digital lead at IVECO, said: “By leveraging the breadth of AWS’s portfolio, IVECO has been able to innovate and deliver in record time a new service that fundamentally changes the way drivers can interface with our vehicles and our drivers’ community. The new voice service from IVECO underpins the company’s future digital strategy as it strives to offer a completely new way for drivers to perform their tasks in an interactive way while raising the level of safety and comfort.”
Second, Volvo Trucks announces that the new Volvo FH, Volvo FH16, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX will be the first commercial heavy-duty trucks to come with Alexa built in. They will be available from March 2021.
The integration of Alexa will enable truck drivers to get directions, make phone calls, listen to the news and access entertainment, all with simple voice commands, Volvo says. If the new truck is equipped with the navigation software that is available from Volvo Trucks, then the driver can ask Alexa which route to take. In addition, Alexa can help the driver make phone calls, play music and access the news and audiobooks.
The functionality is made possible by the new vehicles’ flexible user interface with a digital instrument panel that gives the driver relevant information in each situation and makes it easier for drivers to take the right decisions.