At one of the world’s biggest tech shows, Mercedes-Benz revealed new main points about its Mercedes-Benz Modular Architecture (MMA) and when we can expect those features to be available on the road, adding the MBUX virtual assistant powered by some other wonderful language model (LLM). The North American debut of the CLA-Class Concept sedan at CES follows a first look at the IAA Mobility Show in Munich in 2023; This latest show reflects the rising cost of a personalized user experience in the next generation of premium vehicles.
The MMA-based one will be the first to use the MB operating system. OS, developed in-house through the automaker. As with evolved systems in the industry, one of the main goals of the MBUX assistant is to create a more natural human interaction.
Ever since automakers began incorporating voice recognition in vehicles more than two decades ago, these control interfaces have been among the major pain points for drivers. Until recent years when connected systems that could leverage cloud processing began to appear, voice systems had limited vocabularies, and users had to remember specific commands and go through multiple steps to accomplish anything. More recent systems have gotten much closer to natural language capabilities with the ability to parse increasingly complex requests, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Like Volkswagen, BMW, and other automakers, Mercedes-Benz is tapping into the latest big tech trend to create a voice assistant that helps rather than frustrates: grand language style and generative AI. The MBUX virtual assistant, like other fashionable integrated assistants, takes advantage of ubiquitous connectivity to do some of the heavy lifting of processing.
As we’ve seen since the debut of ChatGPT in late 2022, LLMs can generate responses to queries that sound very natural and plausible so that it doesn’t feel like the driver is talking to a computer. The driver will be able to choose whether to use the Hello Mercedes trigger phrase to start a conversation. Proactive logic will be used to offer context-aware suggestions and previous activity by the driver. While this isn’t a new idea, the latest software technologies may be able to make these predictions more reliable and useful. Or, like other LLMs, they may just suggest you stop for a coffee at a café that doesn’t actually exist. Only time will tell once vehicles with MB.OS and MBUX virtual assistant are on the road.
In some other attempt at human-machine interaction, Mercedes-Benz incorporates an animated star avatar into the screen that uses complicated graphics to express explicit moods. In recent years, an increasing number of automakers have begun to employ game engine software to generate lifelike images. time-based motion graphics instead of relying on pre-rendered animations. Unlike most others that use the Epic Games Unreal Engine, Mercedes-Benz has opted to bring in its main rival, Unity, to produce those animations.
Mercedes-Benz MBUX surround navigation in the Concept CLA
While the animated star may be unnecessary, Unity also enables the new Surround Navigation system. This shows a rendering of the car in its surroundings on the instrument cluster screen, including the road configuration featuring which lane the car is in, adjacent vehicles and the suggested path from the navigation. This can provide some enhanced situational awareness when navigating unfamiliar areas, but it also requires looking away from the road, so it needs to be used with some care.
Increasingly, automakers around the world are selecting Google’s Android Automotive as the operating system to power infotainment systems. The OS is open source and available for anyone to use. Many automakers including Volvo, Polestar, GM, Honda, Ford and others are also choosing to include the Google Automotive Services (GAS) bundle with Google Maps, Assistant and the Play store for apps.
Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse infotainment interface.
However, some like Stellantis have abandoned the GAS, as has Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz has previously announced a partnership with vendor Forvia to integrate a select app store called Aptoide. The newest E-Class already has it in its pre-MB model. Platform. OS and MMA models with MB. The operating system will do the same. The E-Class already has access to the Zoom and Webex apps and will load the Meetings app in the coming months, allowing vehicle occupants to sign up for Microsoft Teams meetings. Other new apps will be available at Mercedes- Benz cars are Booking. com for locating hotels and JustEat for ordering food.
Mercedes-Benz E-Klasse infotainment interface.
For those who haven’t gotten rid of the NFT craze of 2022 yet, also the MBUX Collectibles app. The Collectibles app can be connected to a user’s NFT virtual wallet to demonstrate their Bored Apes and other virtual artwork on the vehicle’s display.
The MMA-platform Mercedes-Benz vehicles that are arriving soon will be the most personalizable vehicles from the German automaker yet. While some of these features may seem trivial or downright unnecessary, as we move further toward electrification, many of the classic ways of distinguishing vehicles from one another fade away as most EVs feel and drive similarly. Personalizing the user experience will be a key way that especially premium automakers can try to stand apart from the crowd. Hopefully, it will all be executed in ways that don’t lead to more driver distraction and safety issues.