By Eric J. Savitz
Intel and other PC players are planning a big push in 2024 for AI-capable PCs.
Intel, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices all plan to roll out new chips that include neural networking features that can handle artificial intelligence applications. HP, Dell, Lenovo and other PC makers are likewise getting ready to roll out their first AI personal computers.
All of those companies will be talking about AI at this year’s CES trade show, taking place this week in Las Vegas. But the applications of AI go well beyond the PC.
Ergo, Intel on Tuesday unveiled plans to bring the AI PC to the car.
The chip maker announced its first-generation system on a chip, or SOC, for what the auto industry calls “software defined vehicles,” using the same chips it recently launched for AI PCs.
Intel also announced its first customer for the new SOC — the Chinese auto maker Zeekr, which intends to use the chips for a “enhanced living room experience in vehicles.” The same company is a key customer for autonomous driving systems company Mobileye, which is majority owned by Intel.
Intel also said it would take a “chiplet” approach to its automotive SOCs, which would let auto makers include their own specialty chips as part of the package. The company said it is working with the technology research firm IMEC on advanced packaging for SOCs to ensure they meet automotive requirements.
One obvious question is just why drivers will want access to AI-capable computing while traveling down the road.
Jack Weast, general manager for Intel Automotive, said in an embargoed briefing with reporters ahead of the show that auto makers will be leveraging the chips to offer generative AI voice assistants in the car, to ask questions about travel destinations, for instance — to find the nearest charger or the closest Starbucks.
Weast said another application would be to include the same kind of enhanced videoconferencing capability that you might have while having a virtual meeting in your office, like blurring backgrounds — he says that is particularly valuable for people who are working from the passenger or rear seats in a moving vehicle.
Another application, he says, would be for monitoring both occupants and drivers for unsafe behavior, like kids unbuckled in the back seat.
Intel is one of a number of companies that are making AI-related automotive announcements at the show. On Monday, for instance, the automotive software company Cerence announced a partnership with Volkswagen to provide an “automotive grade” ChatGPT experience to drivers in North America and Europe. The auto maker will roll out the OpenAI software to cars already on the road via an over-the-air update.
Mercedes-Benz last year announced a new integration of a voice version of OpenAI’s popular chatbot with the “Hey Mercedes” voice command system in the auto maker’s MBUX entertainment system.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at eric.savitz@barrons.com