Saar: It will be applied to future Volvo cars.

Volvo XC60

Volvo Cars and the AI (artificial intelligence) lab of e-commerce major Alibaba have jointly developed a smart infotainment system for future Volvo car models. The system has also been christened and is called “Tmall Gene”. Though we have no idea what Tmall means, the word Gene can be related to some extent. See if you can relate to it too.

Volvo XC60 Interior

The system is smart. It will respond to voice queries. Wow! But we’ve had that technology for a gazillion years now, haven’t we?! Well, Tmall Gene has gone a step further. It will respond to voice queries like car windows and doors status, whether or not they are up and locked respectively. Moreover, it will also turn on the air conditioning in the car as soon as it detects the passenger approaching. Not bad! Volvo will probably tag it as version 1.0.

For the next update, say version 2.0, eggheads from Volvo Cars and Alibaba’s AI lab are working to deliver a more connected experience. Services like navigation with real-time traffic updates and, notifications on prevailing weather conditions along with air quality parameters will come through. The system will further be improved to find the driver a valid parking slot close to the destination fed in the navigation system.

India-Bound Volvo XC40

As we all know, Volvo Cars have always put passenger safety first. We won’t be surprised if Tmall Gene will eventually be upgraded to provide inputs for the safest driving experience. For instance, it could mate with more sensors in the car and remind the driver to take a break over a long journey. The system could automatically give options of a nearby cafe or rest-stop as well. Such features have been there in the automotive industry for a while now. But most of them are far from the common man’s reach. Perhaps, Volvo could make it mainstream.

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