Generative AI models such as ChatGPT are attracting attention. In the mobility industry, along with the development of generative AI technology, in-vehicle infotainment technology is improving to improve the user experience of vehicle occupants.
How are ChatGPT and mobility connected?
ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 based on GPT-3.5, the latest language model of Open AI, and from March 2023, a language model based on GPT-4 is also provided. ChatGPT has a feature that allows machines to communicate in human language (natural language) like humans.
Then, how can generative AI represented by ChatGPT and mobility be connected? First of all, ChatGPT is basically a technology service that can respond in natural language like a human, and connect a machine and a human to have a conversation while responding to human questions.
Mobility, represented by ‘vehicle’, is basically the easiest to think of when we think of the internal combustion engine vehicle we know. We use vehicles when we move from one place to another, such as commuting in a sedan or SUV or going on a trip. Autonomous driving that has been commercialized so far is still at level 2, and the initiative of driving lies with the driver (human). Therefore, it is not basically a situation in which the driver is free from driving when getting into the vehicle.
At this time, the role of the infotainment system and voice AI assistant in the vehicle becomes important, and here a connection point between generative AI such as ChatGPT and mobility is created.
Services that can support voice AI using IoT have been launched in the home, such as Amazon’s Alexa launched in 2014, and similar services such as ‘GiGA Genie’ and ‘Who’ are being launched in Korea, centered on telecommunication companies. appeared.
Google Assistant, launched in 2016, is the most representative voice AI service that can be used in vehicles. Kakao also launched a voice recognition AI service using the voice assistant function, and improved the service so that it can be used not only at home but also in the car.
Using Google Assistant and Apple CarPlay, it can be linked with the infotainment system in the vehicle, and when a person gives a command, the machine operates the corresponding function, and the output value can be seen through the vehicle display.
Currently, it is difficult to use various functions. It is mainly used for calling and checking text messages, using map navigation, and listening to music. Of course, it is good that there is a voice function that can be used more conveniently in the vehicle, but with the biggest problem that voice recognition is not performed accurately (especially for imported cars, it is more difficult to recognize Korean than English), This is because it only fulfills one-way command instructions, but it is not at the level where two-way communication is possible, such as exchanging questions and answers with humans or understanding emotions. However, if in-vehicle infotainment technology improves along with the development of generative AI technology in the future, what kind of user experience (UX) can be improved?
Generative AI and vehicle infotainment market
Automobiles are no longer just a product of manufacturing in the era of internal combustion engines. Now, as automobiles are mobility equipped with smartphones, software and in-vehicle services are important. As autonomous driving technology gradually develops, if drivers and passengers gain freedom from driving in vehicles, what content and business can create new opportunities during that time becomes important.
So what is the most important thing when users spend a lot of time in a vehicle? It's a 'seamless connection'. Ultimately, this aims to enable users who use smartphones to use all tasks and service functions used on smartphones in real time without interruption when they get into the vehicle. And in this situation, it is a generative AI model such as ChatGPT that connects users (humans) and vehicles (machines) and enables them to communicate.
In March 2023, GM started collaborating with Microsoft to help put a ChatGPT model into vehicles to assist occupants. Cruise and Microsoft, a self-driving start-up invested by GM, have been working on an autonomous driving development project together since 2021, and through this cooperation, it is expected that voice AI can be used for in-vehicle assistant function and vehicle management in the future.
In addition, there are ways to utilize cloud and AI models in the production of vehicle-related software beyond the practical use of simply providing services and enhancing user experience. This allows them to develop software more efficiently and deliver digital services to customers.
In fact, GM is also looking for ways to collaborate with Microsoft and utilize Azure, Microsoft's cloud and artificial intelligence service, on GM's Ultifi platform to provide more convenient digital mobility services.
Car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW are already showing the results of cooperation with Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia through exhibitions such as CES 2023. In particular, it seems to be devising ways to increase the efficiency of vehicle and software production by using cloud and AI models.
As such, AI is a huge trend that cannot be resisted, and the mobility industry will also be digitalized faster in this flow.
The Future of Purpose-Based Vehicles (PBVs)
Recently, the concept category for mobility is expanding its meaning from a simple ‘moving vehicle’ to ‘a space where occupants spend time in a vehicle’. In a situation where various industries are rapidly being digitized through AI technology, mobility is also transforming into a digital space. At the center of this is the purpose-built vehicle (PBV), which has recently attracted attention.
A purpose-based vehicle refers to mobility that can be customized to control vehicle operation and internal and external functions according to the purpose of vehicle operation and utilization. As the types of lifestyles diversify, various attempts are being made to utilize the interior of the vehicle itself as a new business or entertainment space beyond the movement of people and goods.
If electrification and self-driving technologies develop in the future, an era in which various activities can be performed in the vehicle through purpose-based vehicles will open. The most representative model is Toyota's concept. Toyota has already introduced its multipurpose self-driving car, the e-Pallete concept car, at CES 2018, and has introduced an e-Pallete that can load wheelchairs using electric ramps in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In addition, through the Woven City, Toyota presented the future of the Smart City.
Hyundai Motor Company also introduced its PBV interior vision and future UX technology in September 2022. Through this, it was shown that seats that can accommodate up to 5 people in a comfortable space within the shuttle and boarding convenience for the transportation disadvantaged were considered. In addition, Hyundai Mobis introduced a UX optimized for the drive and business environment through the mode conversion cockpit. Hyundai Motor Company is developing a PBV-only model using a PBV-only electric vehicle platform and is aiming for mass production in the second half of 2025. To this end, it recently held a groundbreaking ceremony to establish a PBV plant in Hwaseong in April 2023.
HL Mando and HL Clemove are also continuing to develop technologies to utilize self-driving purpose-based vehicles (PBVs). HL Mando and HL Clemove opened a booth with the theme of ‘Imagine Every Move’ at CES2023 last January and showcased future mobility technologies.
Limitations and Potentials of Generative AI
As we've seen, ChatGPT has a lot of interesting things. Just looking at the increase of 100 million monthly users in just two months of launch, you can see the interest. It was interesting to see the machine give its own answer to the human question through the responsive model.
However, the limitations are also clear. Since there is no search information linked in real time yet, more business can be created only when actual services are linked and payments are made. In addition, since the current generative AI is a language model that focuses on communication between machines and humans, it is an independent subject from AI decision-making models that can recognize, judge, and control for autonomous driving.
But there is a possibility. In the future, GPT-4 with more parameters will be released soon, and as the version is gradually upgraded, if methods that can be linked with other search engines and existing digital information come out, various digital services and businesses will be created in the future. expected to be The mobility field has also been digitized rapidly since the 2010s, and various infotainment services using these search engines are expected to evolve.
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