CES 2018: Mercedes Reveals New AI-Powered Infotainment System

By Shannon Azares, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, January 11, 2018

Recent reports have revealed that automaker Mercedes-Benz has joined the fray of voice assistants with the Mercedes-Benz User Experience, which was announced during this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Further reports reveal that the first batch of the new infotainment system will be released this spring.

According to reports, the Mercedes-Benz User Experience is the automaker giant's answer to the criticisms of its previous system, the Comand. It was criticized for its limited connectivity and lack of modernity. Access alone was a hassle for Comand, as it utilized a combination touchpad and rotary controller. Taking the feedback to heart, Mercedes announced the new infotainment system during the CES 2018. In the successor, the infotainment system brings back the convenience of touchscreen, which should propel it to better reception once it is released.

The Mercedes-Benz User Experience System features two widescreen displays and artificial intelligence in the form of a voice assistant that can be activated by saying "Hey, Mercedes." Like Alexa and Google Assitant, the AI can be used to gain information of the weather and to change various controls in the car, including climate and volume. Furthermore, the language recognition of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience is programmed to recognize natural language, which is to say that it can recognize speech like "I'm cold" to change settings.

There is a lot of anticipation for the revamped version of Mercedes' infotainment system. Further reports reveal that it will make it to the market in the new A-Class series. This means that for the U.S., at least, it will be hitting the market later in the year. For those outside the U.S., it will happen in spring. Pricing as well as release dates are expected to be announced in the coming months. Mercedes is also expected to reveal what to expect for the new A-Class series.