Alibaba Tmall Genie voice assistant integrated into BMW vehicles

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- At the Consumer Electronic Show 2019 (CES) in Las Vegas, BMW and Chinese tech giant Alibaba announced that the Tmall Genie (a smart speaker of Alibaba Group) intelligent voice assistant will be integrated into such BMW's models as the 3 Series and 5 Series. Production models carrying the Alibaba's technology is set to hit the market in October 2019.

The latest cooperation allows BMW car owners who have the Tmall Genie-compatible facility at home to operate vehicle functions conveniently. For instance, using the Alibaba-developed voice assistant, users can turn on the in-car air conditioner and call up appointment stored in the BMW Connected mobility agenda and the navigation planning to their destinations just sitting at home. Besides, the voice-driven device can calculate and present mileage, battery life and fuel consumption for users.

The Tmall Genie on-line services will also offered to drivers after they get in the car, such as remotely controlling household appliances like robot sweepers, TVs, air conditioners and washing machines, etc. 

In addition, Tmall Genie's “AI plus Vehicle” solution will be integrated into the AliOS-based Banma in-car operating system and access to AutoNavi's A+Box intelligent mobility solution—both of them are backed by Alibaba Group—working in more flexible cooperative modes. Meanwhile, smart home developers and manufacturers will be benefitted from this voice AI technology by agreeing the open communication protocol issued by Alibaba AI Labs.