Volvo has a lot riding on a successful launch of its upcoming EX60 electric midsize crossover. The Swedish automaker is releasing updates in a gradual trickle, sharing its projected maximum range previously, and today’s nugget of news concerns the EX60’s advanced technology suite, specifically the integration of Google’s artificial intelligence program Gemini. The EX60 will be the first Volvo to launch with Gemini, which is meant to make interfacing with the vehicle a more human-like experience. This involves conversational voice commands, and continual updates that will deeper integrate Gemini with the car’s systems, eventually using “the EX60’s cameras to see what you see and answer questions about the world around you.”
Volvo also touts the safety benefits of its enhanced AI voice assistant capabilities, saying, “Gemini makes every drive more helpful by providing hands-free control of everything that matters on the road. Drivers can stay focused on the drive, reducing the need to look at the central display.” The Volvo EX60 has not yet been officially revealed yet, but this statement makes me wonder if it will have a similar layout to the EX30, with no dedicated gauge display behind the steering wheel. We will be present at the launch of the EX60 next week on January 21, but until then, details are sparse.
These advancements are made possible by HuginCore, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm
The EX60’s extensive technology suite is brought to you by various different buzzwords, including HuginCore, Volvo’s core system “named after the bird in Norse mythology that empowers the car to think, process, and act,” as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon Cockpit Platform, and NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Orin. These systems come together to enable the EX60 to execute over 250 trillion operations per second, as well as the AI features and computing power that the EX60 will be capable of.
Volvo calls it “a car that learns with every mile,” which, thanks to the HuginCore, allows it to read and assess the world around it through an array of sensors. The system is designed to anticipate danger sooner,avoid potential risks, and allow its occupants to have a safer, less stressful journey, as well as enable advanced driver assistance features. Naturally, the EX60 is capable of over-the-air updates for continual improvements over the vehicle’s lifetime, and it’s capable of learning from other Volvo cars globally to continuously improve safety.
Each car will include a four-year complimentary unlimited data subscription to enable owners to use all these snazzy features. I’m wary of allowing Google’s AI assistant to have access to a car’s cameras, but who knows, maybe luxury EV buyers aren’t?
