As technology continues to advance, bringing about new social media platforms and gaming apps, distracted driving casualties continue to rise.
And German Autolabs has a solution which will not only prevent distracted driving but could even transform the way consumers make auto loan payments, Mobility Buzz has learned.
German Autolabs, a provider of internet of things solutions, is developing a “digital co-driver,” an in-car artificial intelligence system. The product — dubbed Chris — operates like a human brain, meaning that it adapts to learn over time, every driver’s unique needs. Chris can be used for calling, messaging, email, music, navigation, and more. The advanced technologies — AI and natural-language processing, among others — offer a human-centric user experience.
Chris will initially be consumer-facing, meaning consumers can purchase the digital system directly online. However, German Autolabs recognizes there are opportunities to package the product in bulk, selling it to dealerships to include as an aftermarket product for the vehicles, Holger Weiss, the company’s founder and chief executive, told Mobility Buzz.
Shifting from a business-to-consumer model to a B2B2C sale is “an opportunity in the future,” he said, “where we sell it in bulk to dealerships or maybe even to OEMs.” The Berlin, Germany-based company is “in early talks” with automakers to develop a solution whereby consumers can make payments through Chris for their auto loan or lease, Weiss added.
Chris was launched via a Kickstarter campaign on March 28, and within eight hours, the digital system received $162,020 in pledges out of the company’s initial goal of $53,388.
Chris will be available to ship to the Kickstarter backers by December, then in early 2018 the product will be available for purchase by all consumers.
Those interested in learning more about the evolution of the transportation industry should join us at the second annual Auto Finance Innovation 2017 conference, May 17-18 at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego.