Artificial intelligence is one of the hottest topics today. It has been used in medicine, games, government services and automobiles to name a few. In fact, according to new reports, Toyota websites are already powered by an AI framework.
Toyota Uses AI On Their Website
Phys.org reported that one of the largest automobile companies in the world has already used AI on their websites. Toyota, a Japanese automotive manufacturer applied the AI published in a 2011 paper by a UCLA computer science professor. The company applied the AI on its website to help customers customize their vehicles online.
Toyota websites and its Lexus division offer their customers the opportunity to customize their vehicles from a range of models, colors and accessories. The said websites were powered by "product configuration," a software based on a logical form of AI. Professor Adnan Darwiche devised this software.
Per the report, with Toyota's AI powered websites their customers can now perform sophisticated, real-time reasoning to get the exact vehicles they want. For instance, if you want a red Camry with tan interior and performance package, you can check for this combination on its website to check if the company can manufacture it or if it is already available in its inventory.
Aside from this, the AI will also recommend the features that are co-dependent or suggest to remove a minimum number of features when the combined features are not feasible.
"I was very pleased to see this appreciation for the practical significance of my work to the point of adopting it for this massive commercial application," said Darwiche, who is very proud and happy that his work has been applied in Toyota's websites. "What was particularly gratifying is that engineers found my publications sufficiently detailed to implement the work, without additional help from me or my group at UCLA."
Toyota Invests $1 Billion In AI
The New York Times reported that Toyota has invested on a five-year, $1 billion research and development project involving AI. The investment will focus on robotics technologies and artificial intelligence that will help humans drive safer.
"We want to create cars that are both safer and incredibly fun to drive," Gill Pratt, a roboticist, who will lead the project. He explained that Toyota would innovate a collection of sensors and software that will serve as "guardian angels" to protect the drivers.
Are you happy with Toyota's investment on AI? Do you agree that applying AI in the automobile industry is a big help? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
