Audi Works on Affective Intelligent Driving Agent

People seem to show a continuous need to have more. Nothing is ever good enough, so they keep searching for a better version. That's great, as we agree that this kind of thinking is the one that encourages progress and makes us think out of the box.

The German automaker Audi started to think out of the box and is now working, alongside with MIT specialists, on introducing a new robotic-buddy inside your car. Ok, maybe the on-board computer got a little old and the the complicated navigation systems got a little.. well.. complicated, but the idea of having a conversation with your car seems absolutely crazy, unless you're David Dusselhoff inside the Knight Rider.

Audi's Wall-E look alike is called AIDA, an acronym for Affective Intelligent Driving Agent, and he (or she) collects environmental data, such as local events, traffic and gas stations, and combines it with a careful analysis of your driving habits and style to make helpful suggestions and note points of interest.

So is it good that Aida "learns your favorite areas of town... and builds knowledge about the different activities you enjoy in the city." That's a definite maybe, as it depends on whether you share your car with somebody else or not. Just imagine lending the car to your wife and, five minutes after leaving, imagine AIDA popping up and saying "Good morning John. Take the next left to go the cathouse!"