“Alexa, I need an oil change,” said no one ever. Until now. Everyone has heard of Amazon’s Alexa, a digital personal assistant that allows you to do tasks simply through your voice. If I can order pizza from Domino’s within seconds, then why can’t I schedule maintenance for my car the same way? Well, that’s why I’m trying to do. Recently I heard of an interview with billionaire Mark Cuban in Barron’s newspaper, in which he mentioned that voice technology will become the next big thing, and it’s not hard to see why. Google, Amazon, and Apple continue to release new upgrades and versions of their respective voice assistants. Everyone knows the basics of them. Turning on and off lights, setting timers and reminders, doing calculations, and a bunch of other cool features. These features have even made it to the car, such as Amazon’s Alexa Auto, and other 3rd party accessories that contain these voice-activated machines.
But why do these current machines in cars only have the same features as the other ones? Why don’t devices in cars have any features relating to cars? Sure it’s nice to lock my door from the driver’s seat, but cars important too, even if you aren’t a car enthusiast. That’s why I plan on learning how to make Amazon Alexa skills soon, and making some. Here are my ideas so far:
- Schedule maintenance at dealers and independent shops: “Alexa, schedule an oil change at Nalley Toyota,” etc.
- Car reminds you of maintenance: “It’s been 1 year since your last oil change, would you like to schedule another one?”
- Car gives facts about the car: “Your car uses 0W-20 oil,” etc.
- Car reminds of gas: “It look like you only have 50 miles of range left, would you like to find a gas station nearby?”
- Car works with driver assistance systems: “There’s a car in your right blind spot”
- Alexa-enabled OBD port: “It looks like you have a misfire, want to schedule a service appointment?”
- Alexa Auto remembers parking spot: “Alexa where’s my car”
