Ok Google, tell my Mercedes to start
The new integration between Mercedes' onboard systems and AI-based home assistants from Google and Amazon brings the future to us.
Do you have a new Mercedes? Does your home have a Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa? Do you have a “Mercedes Me” account activated on your vehicle? Have you subscribed to the $280 a year “Mbrace” subscription?
If the answer to all of those questions is a “Yes”, then you are in for a treat from the future. Your Mercedes can now talk to virtual assistants and can mutually control each other when required. In simple words, you can tell your Google Home to start your Mercedes and keep it warm before you head out of your home.
By integrating the car and the home automation system, Mercedes has brought the future, featuring a connected ecosystem, to the present. It now makes sense to have a powerful computer sitting on your car’s dashboard that can not only control various parameters of your car but also control most of your home’s smart systems like lighting and cooling controls.
You can get directions from your Assistant sent on your car; you can switch off your appliances while you drive away from your house and can remotely lock the car with the help of the AI assistant. All you have to do is use the commands for the respective Assistants, i.e. "Ok Google, tell my Mercedes me to start" or Hey Alexa, tell my Mercedes me to start ".
The feature will be available on Mercedes vehicles manufactured after 2016. The feature is currently limited to the US and will be rolled out to the European market soon.