Panasonic Automotive Integrates with Amazon Alexa SDK

Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America has updated its SkipGen in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system with an integration that provides customers simultaneous access to Siri while using Apple CarPlay or Alexa by simply speaking either "Hey Siri" or "Alexa," respectively.

Amazon and Panasonic Automotive developed this integration for SkipGen with the Alexa Auto SDK, which provides core Alexa functionality, such as wake word detection, speech recognition, and synthesis. It also offers capabilities for customizing car control features, monitoring and controlling smart home devices, getting weather reports, interacting with media playback, executing local search and navigation, and accessing local voice control to use certain Alexa features when internet connectivity is unavailable.

"Our latest integration with Amazon's SDK builds on our strong multiyear relationship and collaboration to elevate ambient digital experiences across different environments," said Andrew Poliak, chief technology officer of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, in a statement. "Customers want to be able to take their voice assistants with them on the road, and we are excited to be able to team up on an industry-first integration that seamlessly enables phone calls, music playback, navigation, and more."

"Voice interoperability is a pillar of Amazon's broader vision to scale ambient intelligence. We believe customers and device makers should have flexibility and choice, and we provide the best experience when customers have simultaneous access to multiple voice services on a device," said Aaron Rubenson, vice president of Amazon Alexa, in a statement. "We're excited about this cross-industry collaboration, as it builds on this shared vision and can improve the way people interact with their vehicles."

"Voice interoperability as offered on the SkipGen system is a great example of the powerful experiences that can be unlocked with Amazon's latest Automotive SDK," said Anes Hodzic, vice president of Amazon Smart Vehicles, in a statement. "We're thrilled to partner with Panasonic Automotive to enable this functionality for automakers, and continue on our vision to deliver personalized, proactive, and intuitive digital experiences that delight drivers and passengers."