The mobile operating systems featured on car dashboards in the form of Apple Car Play and Android Auto have made heads turn over the last few years.
Alibaba took this even further when it recently stunned with the unveiling of the first vehicle that features an operating system that covers all its systems and connects them to other electronics in ways not seen before.
The Roewe RX5 SUV’s features originate from Alibaba’s YunOS, which allows the car to automatically pay for fuel, parking, and tolls, and which recommends both vehicle settings and destinations for each individual occupant.
It also interacts with other technology such as mobile phones and drones based on the same operating system.
And just like the smart phone, it can be updated and new apps and features added.
“What we hope to achieve in the coming decades is to inject machines with human wisdom,” Alibaba chairman and founder Jack Ma said while launching the system. “Just as software programmes have made the phone smarter today, YunOS will make cars an even more indispensable part of human life in the future society.”
Alibaba has emerged the winner for the time being with the system.
Google has even previewed a version of Android integrated into a Maserati – the first time such integration has been released in a vehicle on sale.
The car starts at just over NZ$20,000.
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