The Redmond-based software giant is looking to partner with auto companies to drive next-generation in-car experiences
Aiming to have a larger presence in the connected car space, Microsoft has announced a new licensing platform that will enable automobile companies to share certain intellectual property (IP) from the tech company it is partnering to integrate better technology experiences in their vehicles.
Cars are increasingly becoming a hotbed for technology innovation, where manufacturers are vying to make the journey from point A to point B much more enjoyable, comfortable, and convenient. We’re already seeing features like voice recognition, multi-speaker, and multi-screen infotainment systems, even in-car WiFi and Internet access becoming a norm in premium vehicles. These advancements are only poised to trickle down to broader price segments over time.
Coupled with connected platforms like cloud-based services, automobile companies have the ability to deliver features that were never possible earlier, including pre-emptive roadside assistance, and pushing out new features and fixes via OTA updates. According to Microsoft, by 2020, there is expected to be close to a quarter of a billion connected vehicles on the road globally.
As part of this announcement, the Redmond-based software giant revealed that it has reached an agreement to license its IP to Toyota as its first partner in auto-licensing programme.
“The connected car represents an enormous opportunity for the auto industry, and, at the core, it’s a software challenge,” says Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft. “Our mission is to empower carmakers with technology that allows them to focus on building even better driving experiences for customers.”
Toyota has already been collaborating with Microsoft since April 2016 for furthering its collected car technology, where Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform has been powering the auto company’s Big Data Centre. Some of the innovations the car company is exploring includes using a vehicle’s steering wheel as a heartbeat monitor to determine the physical state of the driver, having on-road cars wirelessly communicate with each other to determine upcoming traffic conditions, or prompting a service centre booking — based on the user’s existing calendar — the instant a ‘check engine’ condition appears.
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