Honda has joined a unique new partnership with tech company SoftBank in an effort to develop new artificial intelligence for cars. Think KITT from “Knight Rider” or Herbie the Love Bug, as some sources have compared the new AI project to.
Turning a car into a supercomputer or robot is the idea, according to SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son. What does that mean?
Well, soon Honda could produce a vehicle capable of reading your emotions, having conversations with you like a friend, and much, much more. It would be a really big step forward from Siri, that’s for certain. From providing company on long trips to potentially giving you advice on your love life, the new AI could serve many functions that, until now, have only been seen in sci-fi and fantasy shows.
Honda and SoftBank are likely to experiment with ultra-enhanced natural speech recognition, as well as innovative camera and sensor technology to enable their AI to read a driver’s emotions. Aside from the “friendliness” aspect of the tech, there could definitely be many practical benefits, such as providing guidance to drivers when they’re in precarious driving situations. We’re really curious to see what the new tech could look like on models like the Honda Accord and Civic if it comes to market in the future.
While most automakers are busy working on autonomous driving technology, Honda has had its sights set on many tech-focused ventures. The automaker plans to open an artificial intelligence research facility in Tokyo later in 2016 and is continuing work with its robot, Asimo, which celebrates its 16th birthday this year.
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