Hyundai working with Amazon Web Services, Vodafone Idea for its upcoming ‘smart’ SUV

Automobile maker Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday said it would soon launch its connected car solution in partnership with cloud firm Amazon Web Services (AWS), telco Vodafone Idea, conversational intelligence company SoundHound, and mapping services player Here Technologies.

Called Blue Link, the tech will feature in the carmaker’s upcoming sport utility vehicle (SUV) Venue, and will look at safety, security, and convenience, aided by artificial intelligence (AI), remote services, and a call centre.

"The Blue Link Solution, which encompasses e-SIM, the Blue Link app, along with our backend tech stack, has been developed over a period of two years at the company's Hyderabad research and development (R&D) centre," Jack Joseph, research head of info systems at Hyundai Motor India, told TechCircle. An e-SIM is a digital SIM that allows you to activate a cellular plan from a carrier without having to use a physical SIM card.

Joseph said that Hyundai has tied up with Vodafone Idea for network services and the Blue Link solution, aided by an antenna on the roof of the car, can access 2G, 3G and 4G (second-, third- and fourth-generations of mobile communications) network bands, ensuring better connectivity.

For navigation and maps support, the company has partnered with Here Technologies.

Joseph said that the company has partnered with AWS to store the data coming from its vehicles. He added that the firm was looking to run analytics software on the data to provide insights to customers. The company also plans to use business intelligence from the data for its different teams such as sales and after-sales service.   

In order to provide voice support services such as voice-assisted dialling, vehicle navigation control and interactive voice recognition, Joseph said that the company has partnered with US-based conversational intelligence firm SoundHound.

As part of the connected car solution, he added there were a total of 33 services, of which three were modified and 10 were built for India. These services include automobile crash notification, SOS and emergency assistance, roadside assistance and panic notification.

Puneet Anand, senior general manager of marketing at Hyundai Motor India, said, "In case of any accident, an auto call will be placed to the call centre to assist you with emergency services like ambulance or police. And in case of an emergency, the call centre will assist you with emergency services as well."

He added that in case of a vehicle breakdown, the call centre will assist the driver in dispatching assistance to the spot. Along with that, the driver can also send a panic notification to his or her emergency contacts.

Security services, offered by the company, include stolen-vehicle tracking, stolen-vehicle notification and stolen-vehicle immobilisation.

Anand said, "In case of a stolen vehicle, the car owner or the police can seek assistance from Blue Link call centre for tracking the vehicle and can request the car to be immobilised via the call centre remotely." He added that the SUV will come with a burglar alarm as well.

Explaining further the remote services, Anand said that Hyundai's Blue Link can help start or stop the engine, maintain or change climate controls in the car and also check on door locks, all through the app.

Other remote services include sharing the location of the car, remote car horn and car light flashes to help customers find their vehicles.

The Blue Link solution, according to Anand, will also help in vehicle relationship management services.

He said, "In case of any malfunction with the important vehicle controllers like engine and transmission, the car owner will be notified automatically. Owners can also run a diagnosis on their vehicles manually."

Some other services include real-time navigation and traffic information along with options for owners to geo-fence their cars or set an ideal time for their vehicle.

Anand explained, "Any change to the restrictions set by the owner triggers an alarm and sends a message to the owner."