Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

IBM and BMW want to make Watson your own personal back-seat driver

By
BMW and IBM: Cognitive Research for Cars of the Future
You’re about to get a new passenger in your BMW, and his name is Watson.
Recommended Videos

On Thursday, the German automaker announced a new collaboration with IBM, in which the two companies will “work together to explore the role of Watson cognitive computing in personalizing the driving experience and creating more intuitive driver support systems for cars of the future.” So even if you’re not the smartest driver in the garage, BMW and IBM want to help.

This is by no means the first time BMW has shown an interest in connected technology and the smart car space. Just a few months ago, the luxury car brand announced a number of initiatives around its mysteriously named “Strategy Number One,” including self-driving technology, mobility, and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

And now, BMW is taking an even deeper dive into cognitive computing by way of this IBM partnership.

“Watson is transforming how people interact with the physical world — helping to create safer, more efficient and personal experiences at home, at work and on the road,” said Harriet Green, global head of IBM’s Watson IoT business. “With this agreement, our companies will work together to lay the foundations so that drivers can benefit from Watson’s conversational and machine learning capabilities. Our insight shows that while the car will remain a fixture in personal transportation, the driving experience will change more over the next decade than at any other time of the automobile’s existence.”

The hope is that Watson and its machine learning skills will help BMW vehicles learn their owners’ preferences, needs, and habits, thereby making for the safest and most comfortable driving experience possible. Moreover, new four BMW i8 hybrid sports cars will have their manuals ingested into Watson, so drivers can ask their cars questions in natural language. Finally, the automaker also hopes to integrate data from IBM-owned Weather Company for real-time updates around the weather and how it affects ideal routes and traffic conditions.

So get excited, friends. Your car is getting smarter, and by extension, so are you.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Mercedes-Benz G580 first drive: old-school off-roader goes electric
2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 from three quarter view.

American car buyers mostly know Mercedes-Benz as a luxury brand. But for decades, the automaker has also produced the tough, rugged G-Class (also known as the Geländewagen or G-Wagen), an SUV not afraid to get its leather upholstery muddy. And now, this iconic Mercedes is going electric.

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology — the final name of the SUV previously known as the EQG — isn’t the first electric off-roader. The Rivian R1S and R1T and GMC Hummer EV have proven that electric powertrains and off-roading are a great combination. But the electric G-Wagen is different because it’s based on an internal-combustion model — and a very traditional one at that.

Read more
Honda believes hydrogen semi trucks will make the case for fuel cells
Honda hydrogen fuel-cell semi truck.

Honda remains committed to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, but the market for those vehicles remains limited. So Honda is looking at other uses for fuel cells -- including commercial trucks.

To show how that could work, Honda converted a semi truck to fuel-cell power, replacing its diesel engine with three fuel-cell modules. Together, the three modules produce a combined 321 horsepower, and can propel the truck to a top speed of 70 mph. There's enough onboard hydrogen storage capacity for a 400-mile range with a full load, Honda claims.

Read more
Mercedes-Benz G580 vs Rivian R2: Is the much cheaper Rivian actually better?
2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 from three quarter view.

Mercedes-Benz has finally taken the wraps off of the new "Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology." Yeah, it's a mouthful, but it's basically a new electric G-Wagon. It looks a lot like the G-Wagon you know and love, but with an electric powertrain and a battery. It's not the only electric SUV out there, however, and there are some great ones -- like the Rivian R2.

Both the Mercedes G580 and the Rivian R2 have a lot going for them, but they also approach the electric SUV slightly differently. Is one better than the other? I put the two head-to-head to find out.
Design
The approach that the two vehicles take to design is quite different -- and you might like one better than the other.

Read more