LAS VEGAS -- Car companies allowing owners to remotely interact with their cars by way of a smartphone app is nothing new. Allowing drivers to talk to their cars and control them by voice command, like in the now-infamous 1980s TV show Knight Rider, is. Amazingly, that's exactly what Volvo has done.
Volvo announced Tuesday morning at CES that Volvo owners will now be able to control their cars by voice through the Microsoft Band 2. Delightfully, they'll be able to do more than flash the lights (they'll be able to do that, too). With simple voice commands, owners can set the navigation, turn on the heater, lock the doors, or sound the horn.
While these things are certainly cool and -- in the case of the navigation function -- time-savers, they're not particularly groundbreaking. But, remember, that's just for right now.
Volvo is one of the leaders in self-driving car tech, as it demonstrated with its Concept 26 at the LA Auto Show late last year. With voice commands coming online for new Volvo cars, the sky is the limit for future implementations.
Imagine having your car drop you off at a shopping center and go park itself. Then, when you're ready to be picked up again, simply speaking in to your Microsoft Band 2 and having the car come back to pick you up. What's wild is, that's not crazy science fiction. That's a function that, by my estimation, is seven years away.
There is a bit of bad news, I'm afraid. Only Volvos enabled with Volvo on Call will be able to be controlled by voice -- and not until Spring of 2016. That means the brand-new ones, like the XC90 and the forthcoming S90.
Now, if you're wondering whether having a Volvo XC90 that you can control by voice will make you as handsome or cool as David Hasselhoff with his car KITT, it probably won't. That doesn't mean you won't be the coolest person on the block, however.
