“Hey Mercedes” is the Wake Word for Your AI Co-Pilot

The future of vehicles is looking chatty thanks to the collaboration between Nuance Communications and Daimler AG.  Working together the companies developed an advanced infotainment system and digital assistant experience: the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) multimedia system.

Built specifically for the new A-Class and other future Mercedes models, MBUX is powered by conversational AI technology, leveraging Nuance’s Dragon Drive platform to understand and continuously learn the needs and preferences of drivers and passengers.

“Hey Mercedes” is the simple wake up word for your MBUX system, ready to engage the assistant. Some might say there’s something unnatural about relationship between human and machine, but the MBUX system uses natural language understanding to anticipate your needs. Something as nuanced as “Should I wear flip flops tomorrow?” is understood as a question relating to the weather.

Like any relationship, communication is key, and MBUX is designed to learn from what you’ve said previously. The assistant is equipped with the intelligence to follow up from previous conversations, learning about what your typical questions might be, like what weather forecasts you ask about the most.

MBUX reacts to a changing verbal climate, with a software model that’s continuously enriched with new words or the changing of language over time. The assistant is embedded into the car itself so you can ask for in-car functions like music or in-seat temperature and massage.

“With MBUX, we have come another step closer to turning the vehicle into a mobile assistant,” emphasized Sajjad Khan, Vice President, Digital Vehicle & Mobility, at Daimler.

Currently, Dragon Drive ships globally in more than 200 million cars across more than 40 languages, creating conversational experiences for Toyota, Audi, BMW, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, GM, Hyundai, SAIC, and more.

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(Original posted on Mobile ID World)