Mercedes-Benz will show off its new artificially-intelligent in-car personal digital assistant at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January.
Concept CLA Class
The CES has long since become a major show for car makers to display their latest tech offerings, and 2024 will be no different. Mercedes will bring along the Concept CLA Class electric four-door coupe that it showed at the IAA Mobility event in Munich in October, and while that's not a new car, the tech that's being demonstrated is.
Gaming-style graphics
According to Mercedes, the MBUX Virtual Assistant takes "the 'Hey Mercedes' voice assistant into a whole new visual dimension with high-resolution game-engine graphics from Unity." Unity is a company that develops graphics and gameplay across the gaming industry, and which has provided the tech behind more than five-billion downloads across various app-stores and platforms.
A single entity
Mercedes says that the tech allows it to combine the various intelligent systems of the MBUX operating system into 'a single entity' which is supposed to offer natural, human-like interaction with the driver.
"Mercedes-Benz is reinventing the digital passenger experience by leveraging AI to offer human-like interaction with the intelligent MBUX Virtual Assistant. It includes empathetic characteristics that sync with your driving style and mood. Paired with our in-house MB.OS architecture, this approach will define the future of digital luxury" said Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz.
Alongside that, and the physical Concept CLA Class, Mercedes will also be showing off its much-anticipated all-electric G-Class, the EQG, at CES, although that won't be quite a full reveal as the EQG on show will still be wearing a camouflage wrap - as you can see in the video below.
As the Virtual Assistant itself says in a short teaser video: "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Except me...