- The upcoming Volvo EX60 will feature an AI-powered virtual assistant capable of casual conversation.
- It will also have access to the vehicle’s cameras and be able to “see what you see.”
Volvo’s upcoming EX60 will use Google’s Gemini to power an AI virtual assistant that can hold conversations.
The EX60 is an all-electric compact SUV that, Volvo claims, could have a range of up to 400 miles on a single charge and add up to 173 miles in just 10 minutes at a DC fast charger. We’ll bring you our first glimpse of the car next week. But Volvo has been trickling out details to get fans excited.
Today, the company revealed that the car will have an AI-powered virtual assistant that can “see” the world around it.
Many automakers have pursued conversational AI in cars. Some Volkswagen and Mercedes products on the road today already have it. Honda announced a similar system for its upcoming 0 Series cars a year ago. Both Rivian and BMW announced their own versions in recent weeks.
Volvo’s, however, is the first we’ve heard of that uses cameras to interpret its environment.
The company says the assistant will enable owners to “find a hotel booking address in their email, check if a recently bought item fits in their EX60 trunk, or brainstorm ideas for an upcoming road trip.”
But, with its simulated vision, it could also “see what you see and answer questions about the world around you.”
Volvo is calling the processing unit behind the voice HuginCore, presumably named for Hugin (meaning “mind”), one of the ravens that serves Odin in the ancient Norse religion of the company’s native Sweden. The mythical bird flew daily across the world to bring the god knowledge. Gemini scrapes the web.
Hugin joins Volvo’s “Thor’s hammer” headlights as the automotive world’s most prominent references to historical mythology.
We’ll bring more details next week, when we hope to test the system.
