Toyota Connected is the new entity of the partnership between Toyota and Microsoft Corporation, with which the two giant firms join the car race. While the car is also a mobile stuff and that tech firms will have it as the next battleground, Microsoft is jumping on the car race bandwagon by partnering with the world's largest automaker, Toyota.
The software titan skips building a new auto division and makes use of the expertise of another giant. It agreed to help Toyota take advantage of the data available to learn more about what consumers want, The Next Web reported.
Toyota Connected is built on Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform and will use the data from the cars via sensors in the engine and on computer management systems. Microsoft Executive VP of Corporate Strategy and Planning Kurt DelBene stated: "The automotive industry is undergoing a massive transformation as drivers increasingly see their cars as mobile devices that extend their digital lifestyle." He added that they are working closely with carmakers like Toyota to make cars smarter with screens, sensors, connectivity and networks to help enhance driving experience.
In October, Toyota announced it wanted to go into self-driving cars and have its units on the road by 2020, reckoned Fortune. It bought a 3 percent stake for an $8.2 million artificial intelligence from Preferred Networks as well as Jaybridge Robotics AI software firm based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Microsoft and Toyota hope to include in upcoming devices, features to monitor the driver's heartbeat, like the steering wheel, and make the chair record weight like a weighing scale. They likewise vision a car that can communicate with other cars to be informed in advance when there is traffic on the way.
There is no specific timetable given for the features to come but the two firms said North America will be the test bed before the services will apply worldwide. Toyota Connected will be based in Plano, Texas, where Microsoft and Toyota will research and develop connected car service. It will be the company's data science hub with its AI and robotics research. Toyota Motor North America Chief Information Officer, Zack Hicks, is also the CEO and President of Toyota Connected.
Here is an interview of Zack Hicks: