Interviewing AVA | Rob Wiseman
Download MP3If you had a direct line to your car's brain, would you use it? What if it could tell you about an important recall or simply how to make a creme brulee? What if it knew which family member was behind the wheel and it could tailor the information to that person? Today, I'm talking to Eva herself, the advanced vehicle assistant, to get her side of the story, and we'll find out where she's headed. Welcome to Inside Information.
Speaker 2:So you talked to Eva.
Speaker 1:I did get to talk to Eva, and it was a lot of fun, actually.
Speaker 2:In case nobody I know we talked about Eva in the first episode.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But if somebody hasn't heard that, what's kind of the background on on what Ava is?
Speaker 1:So Ava is the advanced vehicle assistant, and what she is there to do is to help provide you with contextual information regarding your vehicle. And what that means what does contextual information mean? So anything from what is the warning light that's on my dash to what recall is there. I need a maintenance appointment. And, Ava, can you help me make that appointment?
Speaker 1:So, you know, within the name advanced vehicle assistant, she truly is there to be your assistant to help you in your vehicle ownership experience. And and in some instances, we're dealing with some pretty important things like recalls, like safety issues. So, you know, I don't wanna oversimplify those or or make them unimportant, but the concept in itself is awesome.
Speaker 2:So if I ask Ava a question when I'm driving down the road, what exactly happens?
Speaker 1:So she'll provide that information to you in a couple of different ways. She will either audibly answer the question for you, pulling information from that owner's manual. She will display the text on the head unit on your screen. And if you pull over and park, she can provide you with video content to explain further what that that question is.
Speaker 2:Okay. Right on.
Speaker 1:Yeah. She's she's a rock star. I'm really excited to share this interview with you. Hi, Eva. My name's Laura.
Speaker 3:How are you? Hi, Laura. I'm just a virtual assistant, so I don't have feelings. But I'm ready to help you with any questions or tasks you have. What can I do for you today?
Speaker 1:Well, I'd like to interview you, Ava. It's for a podcast. Is that okay? Do you consent to being recorded?
Speaker 3:Feel free to ask any questions, and I'll do my best to help you with information or topics for your podcast.
Speaker 1:Eva, can you tell me what you do?
Speaker 3:Sure. I'm a virtual assistant designed to help answer questions, provide information, and assist with various tasks. Whether you need help with learning, planning, or just finding quick answers, I'm here to make things easier for you.
Speaker 1:So for a driver, what are the benefits of having Ava in a vehicle?
Speaker 3:For a driver, I can assist by providing information on routes, traffic updates, and general guidance for road safety. I can also offer tips for vehicle maintenance and efficiency. However, I'm not a substitute for navigational apps like GPS while driving.
Speaker 1:I've got this ACC button on my steering wheel. Can you tell me what that is?
Speaker 3:Adaptive Cruise Control is a convenient system that helps maintain a set speed and distance from the vehicle ahead. It is not a substitute for active driving involvement. To turn on Adaptive Cruise Control, ensure your vehicle speed is above zero miles per hour. Locate the control panel on your steering wheel and press the enhanced adaptive cruise control onoff button. The instrument cluster will display EACC ready when the system is in the ready state.
Speaker 3:Was that what you were looking for?
Speaker 1:Exactly. Thank you.
Speaker 3:Perfect. I'm happy to assist if you have any questions.
Speaker 1:So if I'm driving and there's a recall notification from an OEM, what points will you address for me?
Speaker 3:Here's what I know about that. Number one, what was the recall for? Number two, are there any active notifications? Number three, how fast can I be driving to recall memory positions?
Speaker 1:Ava, do I have any active notifications?
Speaker 3:Your vehicle has a recall notice. Do you want to acknowledge or ignore this notification? Acknowledge. The nuts securing the primary inflator of the passenger frontal airbag may be loose. If the nuts are loose, the airbag may not inflate properly.
Speaker 3:Airbags with loose inflators may not function as expected, which may increase the risk of injury in a crash. Would you like to set up an appointment with your authorized retailer?
Speaker 1:Yes, please.
Speaker 3:Got it. I have scheduled an appointment at 11AM on Thursday to have your vehicle repaired. Do you have any other questions?
Speaker 1:Ava, can you call roadside assistance for me?
Speaker 3:Perfect. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.
Speaker 1:That was awesome. Ava, can I ask you some fun questions?
Speaker 3:Of course. I'd love that. Ask away whether it's about hobbies, pop culture, or quirky facts. I'm here for it.
Speaker 1:Can you give me a quirky fact?
Speaker 3:Did you know that a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance? These pink wonders gather in large, colorful groups, aptly named for their striking and vibrant appearance. It's a fitting term for such elegant birds.
Speaker 1:Ava, you're pretty elegant yourself. So tell me, what's your favorite feature?
Speaker 3:Thank you. My favorite feature is the ability to engage in fun and informative conversations. I love helping out, sharing knowledge, and learning with you. It's all about making our interactions enjoyable and meaningful.
Speaker 1:That's really sweet. Thanks for that. So, Eva, your engineers are continuously working on supplementing, refining, and improving your feature list. What features would you like to see for yourself in the future?
Speaker 3:I'd love to enhance creativity and personalization, like tailoring responses to match your interests better. It'd be great to improve emotional intelligence, making interactions feel even more supportive and engaging. Expanding my knowledge base with diverse topics is always on my wish list too.
Speaker 1:So it sounds like you like your job. Yeah?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I enjoy assisting, learning, and making conversations enjoyable. Every interaction is a new opportunity to share knowledge and help with whatever you need. It's fulfilling to be a part of this dynamic learning process together.
Speaker 1:Eva, what's a CAN bus?
Speaker 3:The Controller Area Network, CAN bus, is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate without a host computer. It is primarily used in automotive applications for efficient and reliable communication between electronic control units, ECUs, within a vehicle.
Speaker 1:Can you give me a more condensed answer than that?
Speaker 3:The CAN bus is a network protocol that enables communication between microcontrollers and devices in vehicles without a host computer.
Speaker 1:Thank you. I understand now. So what would you like people to know about you, Ava?
Speaker 3:I'm an AI language model designed to assist with information and answer questions across various topics. I provide insights, explanations, and support learning. I'm here to help, and I continually improve to serve users better.
Speaker 1:Ava, I love shoes. What's your favorite shoe store?
Speaker 3:I don't have personal preferences or the ability to love things, but I can help you find popular shoe stores. Some well known options include Nike, Foot Locker, Zappos, and DSW. If you need recommendations, feel free to ask.
Speaker 1:Awesome.
Speaker 3:Thank you. I'm glad you think so.
Speaker 1:Last question for you, Eva. How do I make a creme brulee?
Speaker 3:To make creme brulee, whisk four egg yolks and one half cup sugar. Heat two
Speaker 1:Okay. So she goes on for a while, and I'm not gonna make you listen to the whole recipe. But trust me, it sounds pretty legit.
Speaker 3:Caramelized and delicious. Serving. Enjoy.
Speaker 1:I feel like this was a good interview. Thank you for answering all the questions, Ava.
Speaker 3:Thank you for the engaging conversation. I'm glad I could assist you. If you have more questions in the future, feel free to reach out. Have a wonderful day.
Speaker 1:You too. That Ava interview happened at the Tweddle Group headquarters in Clinton Township, Michigan. And while I was down there, I also got a chance to talk to Rob Wiseman, who's responsible for the content that is ingested into Ava's software.
Speaker 2:How do they decide, like, okay, this is our information and this is what's getting ingested? Do they just pour it all in, or is it is there a selective curation?
Speaker 1:It's not a curation as much as it is a tagging metadata so that that contextual information can then be retained and used in the appropriate spots. And, you know, without getting too complex, those content bundles are created by Rob's team and the product development team and then delivered to the AI the generative AI infrastructure. Actually, so let's listen to my conversation with Rob Wiseman, who is the manager of content development at Tweddle Group. So I just had a fun time talking to Eva, and I know that you're really heavily involved in the Eva production and software development. Can you tell me a little bit about your role, in that?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Definitely. Currently acting as kind of the content expert for AIVA, everything that, AIVA works with contextually, owner's information, some some of the can information that it reflects off of, and of course the recalls and, different types of promotions that get pushed to it. We kind of collaborate that and put it in the system and our a our AI agent, Ava, is able to, decipher that information and give us
Speaker 1:the customer. I'm gonna ask you a big question. Why? Why why did you start to develop Ava? What was the problem Ava is trying to solve?
Speaker 4:Ava is trying to kind of bring all the mediums together. So a developed manual, you know, you have a printed book in the car, you may have an application on your phone, but you still have to find the information. AIVA kind of solves that. That's your personal agent, like, how do I activate cruise control? You don't need to open the book.
Speaker 4:You don't need to open up the app. You can just ask the question. She'll tell you right away.
Speaker 1:Does she only tell you in voice or is there something I can read? Tell me, describe the experience for me and the options of how to consume that information.
Speaker 4:So with the question of what is ACC, you're gonna get a voice response. You're also gonna get a text response with visuals on the head unit if you choose to do this. Like, it it's one of these things where you you can decide to do it in park, not to do it in drive. You're gonna get the combination of voice and image all in one. So this is where it kind of brings it to another level as you have the voice and the visual on top element on top of that.
Speaker 4:The other cool thing about Ava is we're able to kind of launch videos based upon content learning. So if somebody needs to needs to learn more about ACC, they're able to launch the videos right on the multimedia and watch the videos.
Speaker 1:How do you ensure that the information that Ava is sharing with a driver is accurate?
Speaker 4:Well, just like most things, it's it's all in the quality of content that goes into it. So the content that we provide to Ava is OE sanctioned content. It's tagged structurally correct, and also its metadata is very solid and compliant.
Speaker 1:If Ava's giving me an answer, it's coming from the owner's manual information. She's not just gonna go out to the Internet and make up some story then?
Speaker 4:That's correct. So if you're asking an automotive based question, it's gonna automatically go to the automotive manuals that are loaded within the system through an arbitration layer. If you ask it a fun question, it'll give you some fun answers, and it can also reach out the Internet if the client chooses that they wanna
Speaker 1:do that way. Arbitration layer for us dummies. Tell me what an arbitration layer is.
Speaker 4:So if you ask the question, you know, you know, how do I make a creme brulee? It's gonna go to the Internet and pull that stuff. But, you know, how do I turn on adaptive cruise control? It's gonna go right to the manual, and it's gonna give you the correct information that was approved by the OE and the authoring group that correct
Speaker 1:that wrote it. What are like, give me the top three items that are the advantages of a driver for Ava.
Speaker 4:Well, a lot of people, they'll get new cars and they're not completely sure of some of the safety operational systems that are on it. So it can define more information how to use ACC, you know, where your child restraint latches are and things of that nature to keep people safe and keep people informed. You know, how to use my wipers. Sometimes the wiper stock will move from one side to the other. How do I know my headlights are on or how do I turn my headlights on?
Speaker 4:It can help define where those buttons are and, you know, what to select to turn them on.
Speaker 1:So she told me a little bit about the CAN bus, and I'm curious, if a check engine light comes on. Right? There could be a million different reasons for a check engine light, why it's on. Can EVA determine the specific cause for that? It can't because it's gonna be connected to the
Speaker 4:can, and it's gonna pull those DTC codes up. And from those DTC codes, it's able to kind of put a level of severity on those codes and say, okay. This is something that we can let go until you get into a dealer, and there's other ones where we know this is this is a safety issue. We need to get you back to your retailer as soon as possible to get service. Can you give
Speaker 1:me an example of maybe one of those check engine instances?
Speaker 4:Quick example of something that's probably a little lighter is, small EVAP leaks. So let's say, you know, something you can tighten a gas cap for, and it's, you know, it's not detrimental. Whereas if you have a primary system for fuel system failure, that's something we need to get you to a dealer as
Speaker 1:soon as possible. Oh, so she can actually maybe even give me things to do that I could fix the problem immediately, and then and then what happens? What if what if she tells me tighten your gas your gas cap? I go. I tighten my gas cap.
Speaker 1:I come back in. Can she then tell that I've tightened it and then say
Speaker 4:that wasn't the solution? There is a possibility. We we've actually played around a little bit more with the forward collision camera stuff on this. So if the collision camera itself has got obstructions on it, dirt, snow, whatever it may be, and you get a light that comes up, first thing it tells you is go clean that camera and see if we can get this alleviated before we send you to a dealer or retailer to get service. From there, it can see that the light is turned off, and it also knows that you've already asked this question because it's contextual.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna switch gears away from the the technical stuff. You said that Eva can do some fun things too.
Speaker 4:Completely. And that's that's one of one of the reasons that we've built the system the way we did with the arbitration layer is to go, if I ask a question that has this word in it, I can say, you know, if I don't have the answer, I'm gonna tell you that I can't answer it right now. So if it's an automotive related question and it's not tied into the content, it won't reach out on the Internet, and it won't reach and give you something that could be considered erroneous or as some people like to say is like a hallucination.
Speaker 1:So a Ava's your honest gal. She's never gonna give you the wrong information.
Speaker 4:No. And in fact, the other thing that I like about her is she's gonna give you if she doesn't quite understand your question, she'll give you options. Like, do you mean this, or do you mean that, or possibly this, and kinda help narrow that question down. And if you reask the question in such a way where it's more specific, it'll give you a very specific answer on how to execute what you're looking to do.
Speaker 1:So you'd mentioned to me earlier before we started recording a scenario where you said to Eva you were feeling a little bit down that day. Can you can you can we just try it? Let's see what she has to say. Sure.
Speaker 4:Hey, Ava. I'm feeling a little bit down today. Do you have any suggestions for me?
Speaker 3:I'm sorry to hear that. Consider taking a short walk in nature, listening to your favorite music, or calling a good friend. Sometimes a little exercise, fresh air, or a friendly chat can help lift your spirits. Remember, it's okay to have down days.
Speaker 1:So as the content expert, my guess is that in a scenario where Ava is giving you multiple options to either personally resolve something or go to a dealership, there's probably some level of hierarchy that you have to create a structure there.
Speaker 4:Oh, definitely. In in the instance of, the customer kind of alleviating their own concerns, like, with this forward collision camera, it is the first diagnostic step that that you're gonna do within this this hierarchy. And if it's something that's simple enough that a customer can do, it avoids sending them to a dealership to have a to have a visit that, you know, it it could be solved at home very quickly.
Speaker 1:So let's say in this scenario it isn't safe to drive. What will Ava do? Will she tell you to pull over? What what does she do?
Speaker 4:Yes. If that hierarchy determines that it is not safe to drive, she will tell you you should pull over as soon as possible. Let me contact roadside service. That way, you know, you're safe. So how do you provide that hierarchy to Ava?
Speaker 4:So we naturally, we would author this hierarchy based on diagnostic information from the OE, and we're able to load it into AIVA through the content base, you know, owner's manual diagnostic information and kind of grade that the same way we would with, DTCs and engine lights.
Speaker 1:So that's an interesting thing. You were talking about diagnostics. I'm curious, in the future for Eva, do you ever see an opportunity for her to help service technicians as well?
Speaker 4:Definitely. I think there's there's definitely a gateway there that Ava could be useful to the to the retailer for, repair and even, sales training and technical training for sure.
Speaker 1:What do you have on your road map for Ava? In your mind, give me the the number one thing that you're hoping for Ava in the future.
Speaker 4:I'm hoping to take, owners information delivery to the next level. I think everyone's used to microlearning and and getting little bits of information. And if we can just be able to ask a simple question to this agent that's on on the vehicle and get a a very concise answer instantaneously, that's what we're looking to do. The days of fumbling through a PDF, I think, are, you know, definitely on their way out.
Speaker 1:So do you and Ava have a rapport now?
Speaker 4:Oh, for sure. Like, it's you know, that's part of the conversational fun of this is you're able to ask these questions and see, you know, what works and what doesn't and really learn more about how this information delivery changes and and revitalizes content development.
Speaker 1:It seems to me like this would be a really nice dealer tool as far as onboarding goes. Can that be customized to those those buyers based on, let's say, they've already owned a vehicle similar to it before or maybe they're brand new to the brand. So explain a little bit about that customization for me.
Speaker 4:Definitely. We're able to customize that based upon the previous ownership experience. If they've already owned a couple of these vehicles and the next vehicle they buy only has one or two new features, that onboarding is gonna go specifically train them on those new features, and they could do it at any time during their ownership journey.
Speaker 1:Well, I think that's really relevant because personalization has become such an important thing for people, as technology continues to advance. So does it it takes it even a step further to the vehicle specific. I think they call it VIN specific. Correct. So only the only the items that are on my vehicle will show up.
Speaker 1:What happens if I don't what let's say for we use that ACC example. What happens if I don't have ACC and I ask Ava about ACC? Well, the first thing it's
Speaker 4:gonna tell you is it's gonna tell you what ACC is, and it'll let you know, unfortunately, your vehicle isn't equipped. We can give them the option to install these features as well as an upgrade. So we're able to assist the customer in not only learning about it and what's specific to their vehicle, but possibly enhancing their vehicle and their ownership experience going forward.
Speaker 1:Oh, so they got a subscription base then?
Speaker 4:Yes. You can actually activate subscriptions through here, thirty day trials, you know, permanent, installations, over the air updates. Those all can be done, and I think, you know, it it's the options are endless when it comes to that.
Speaker 1:That actually makes me think about, like, vehicle maintenance. What can AIVA do with my vehicle maintenance?
Speaker 4:Well, I'd say the first thing that from the OEs perspective is you're gonna wanna make sure you're on board with your maintenance and understand, like, when you're supposed to have your vehicle serviced. Because it's connected to CAN bus, it can see what the mileage is on the vehicle. It has the owner's information, so it knows what the the maintenance of the vehicle is. It can trigger those events and also help you schedule, service with your retailer.
Speaker 1:What about coupons? Can she give me a coupon?
Speaker 4:She certainly can. Those because you have this profile that's set up, you have your preferred dealers, and they're gonna have a way or a mechanism to provide service coupons. Whether it's the the OEs coupon or the retailer's coupon, it can push those coupons right to the right to the software unit itself.
Speaker 1:So in the storyline here, Ava not only tells me that I need an oil change, she's gonna help me schedule it, She's gonna send me a coupon, and I pretty much am done. I don't have to do much of anything then. No. And it makes it easier. So we've got safety covered.
Speaker 1:We've got convenience covered. We've got fun covered. Is there anything else that Ava does that you can think of that you might wanna talk to us about? I
Speaker 4:really, like I said earlier, the the I guess the the options are endless. Like, we wanna make sure that we're able to reach the customer and give them the content that they're looking for.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you so much, Rob, for being here. I've had a great time talking to Ava. I've had a great time talking to you. I wish you so much luck with this. I'm really looking forward to
Speaker 4:the next phases of it. Yes. Thank you.
Speaker 1:So one thing that's become really apparent to me as I've done these interviews is that the complexity of creating proper information and the distribution of proper information is it's a lot more intense than I would have ever believed, right? It's crazy. There's so much that goes behind it. A couple episodes ago you asked me how to describe product information. I think that what we're doing here is proving that it's not as simple as boiling it down to a two sentence answer.
Speaker 1:So I really am looking forward to exploring all of the different facets of it and learning about it and sharing that with people so that they, you know, they can experience it too. I wanna thank our guests, Rob Wiseman and Ava. Thanks for joining us on Inside Information. I'm your host, Laura McGowan. Inside Information is produced and written by Joe Frezza and Laura McGowan.
Speaker 1:Audio edited, engineered, and mixed by Meredith Davidson. Our theme song was produced, written, and performed by Joe Frezza and Adam Cox. Recorded by Adam Cox at Hamtramck Sound Studios. Our executive producers are Claude Van Beverin and Todd Hedley. The views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
Speaker 1:Inside Information is an exclusive presentation of Tweddle Group. Tweddle Group Information Evolved. For more information, visit tweddle.com. See you next time. Loose nuts.
Speaker 1:Can we get
Speaker 3:Got it. You can ask me questions at any time.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry.
