Cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology is essential for self-driving vehicles. "We can make a product that people can feel affection for," Honda R&D Co. President Yoshiyuki Matsumoto said at an event held by SoftBank in Tokyo on Thursday. The engine will be a practical application of AI that can "read" a person's emotions and hold a conversation with them and express its own feelings. However, they have not made significant advancements with self-driving software that, for example, avoids accidents by predicting the movement of oncoming vehicles and pedestrians.As a result, these automakers have quickly tried to incorporate AI technology into their vehicles. Major automakers have been accelerating tie-ups with companies in other sectors to implement greater use of AI in vehicles that could one day offer advice on what to wear and even cheer up someone with a broken heart.Honda aims to equip its cars with an "emotion engine," a piece of AI technology developed by a company under the SoftBank umbrella.

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 22, 2016 16:30 UTC