Amazon's Alexa seems to be everywhere these days. The company has just announced that it will be partnering with several TV manufacturers to incorporate Alexa into their 4K ultra HD smart TVs, and now it appears that the product will be heading to cars as well.
Much earlier in the game, in August 2016, Hyundai announced its collaboration with Amazon. The partnership, however, is somewhat restricted as its initial implementation will only allow people to voice command Alexa to start up, lock, and unlock their cars from the Echo devices inside their homes.
Ford will be taking things further as it has just announced that it will be supporting Amazon's voice assistant Alexa in its cars.
How Alexa Can Help Ford Car Owners
Smart home connectivity from inside one's car is now made possible with the help of Amazon's Alexa and Ford. Think of the many possibilities that Alexa can make in order to make life easier and more convenient for home and car owners.
With this partnership, car owners can talk to their vehicles even from inside their homes. With a simple voice command, they can order the car to warm up or unlock before getting in to their vehicles. Drivers can request to turn on lights, play music, adjust the thermostat, and control the smart home devices in their homes from inside their cars, before they even get to their front door.
Drivers can also ask Alexa for their car's current fuel level and battery range. They can also ask for directions to their destinations, request news, listen to audiobooks, and add items to their Amazon shopping carts.
Aside from smart home devices, car owners will be able to voice command other internet-enabled home systems such as lighting, garage doors, and security systems.
Connecting Car And Home Through Alexa
Ford will be using its Sync 3 to integrate Alexa into a car system. The connectivity will depend on the driver's smartphone and Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, or Tap inside the car owner's home.
According to Don Butler, Ford's Executive Director, the reason why the carmaker partnered with Amazon is because it didn't want customers to have to "learn all the various menu structures and dive into the owner's manual. Ideally they should just be able to just say what they want."
In a press release, Amazon's Steve Rabuchin echoed Butler's statement.
"We're excited to work with Ford to enhance the driver experience both inside and outside of the vehicle," said Rabuchin.
The Ford-Alexa integration will roll out in two phases. The first one will allow car drivers to connect their cars with Alexa, which will happen later this month. The second phase will happen over the summer and will allow drivers to use their voices to command Alexa while driving.
