Although the Japanese company Honda is widely known as one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world and also the largest manufacturer of motorcycles, it is increasingly on the front edge of technological innovation outside the automotive world. The company's investment in research and development landed it on the "Top 20 R&D Spenders" list that includes five other automakers but representatives from other industries as well. Based upon the innovations Honda has shared publicly, it's using some of this R&D budget to get ready for the 4th industrial revolution by using AI and big data to not only design safer and more personalized autos, but also create robots. With the tremendous amount of data that's created from a wide variety of sources including sensors on cars, customer surveys, smartphones and social media, Honda's research and development team uses data analytics tools to comb through data sets in order to gain insights it can incorporate into future auto designs. As the company's big data maturity has increased, its engineers are learning to work with and leverage data, that had previously been to cumbersome to find meaning, thanks to the assistance of big data technology and analytics tools. There are more than 100 Honda R&D engineers who are now trained in big data analytics.

Although the Japanese company Honda is widely known as one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world and also the largest manufacturer of motorcycles, it is increasingly on the front edge of technological innovation outside the automotive world. The company's investment in research and development landed it on the "Top 20 R&D Spenders" list that includes five other automakers but representatives from other industries as well. Based upon the innovations Honda has shared publicly, it's using some of this R&D budget to get ready for the 4th industrial revolution by using AI and big data to not only design safer and more personalized autos, but also create robots. With the tremendous amount of data that's created from a wide variety of sources including sensors on cars, customer surveys, smartphones and social media, Honda's research and development team uses data analytics tools to comb through data sets in order to gain insights it can incorporate into future auto designs. As the company's big data maturity has increased, its engineers are learning to work with and leverage data, that had previously been to cumbersome to find meaning, thanks to the assistance of big data technology and analytics tools.

The electric, autonomous car of the future will have as much in common with your smartphone as your previous car, Honda believes, while claiming its far-out Neuv concept is closer to reality than many think. Hond's next city car might not look exactly like the Neuv, which debuted at the CES technology show in January and had its first European outing at the Geneva motor show in March, but the thinking behind the concept is close to a near-future reality many car companies are driving use towards. "We tried to understand what is so cool about smart devices," said Jared Hall, of Honda's US research division. Speaking to IBTimes UK in Geneva while we inspect the Neuv, Hall explains how the carmaker wants to appeal to millennials who lust after the solid, simple slabs of glass and aluminium they call smartphones, but who appear to show a waning interest in cars. "These devices are very simple with a high gloss finish, blacks, metals, sometimes wood and leather for cases," Hall adds.

One of the highlights at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the parade of new connected vehicle technologies. Automakers and their suppliers rolled out a number of innovative capabilities that promise to shape the next generation of driving, make transportation safer and more efficient, revitalize our cities, and reduce air pollution. Often lost amidst the "oohs" and "ahhs" these new capabilities inspire, however, is their dependence on radio spectrum and the policies that govern its use. The new connected vehicle capabilities come in decidedly different flavors. Some, for example, seek to enhance the automobile user's experience.

Thirty-five years ago the TV series Knight Rider envisioned an artificially intelligent car that could develop a friendly rapport with its driver. That 1982 Pontiac Trans Am--also known as the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT)--dutifully served as Michael Knight's crime-fighting partner, monitored his health through sensors in the seat and even used voice analysis to respond to the sarcasm in Knight's cornball quips. Your next car won't reach KITT's level of awareness, wit or empathy--but Honda, Toyota and several other companies really are planning to make AI standard in all the vehicles they produce. Honda unveiled one of the more ambitious--and fanciful--visions for AI in the cockpit at last week's U.S. Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Its New Electric Urban Vehicle (NeuV) is a self-driving concept car that uses Honda's talking Automated Network Assistant, or HANA, to analyze and respond to data the vehicle collects about driver and passenger preferences and behavior.

Honda's NeuV (New Electric Utility Vehicle) is a combination of ideas from the Japanese automaker, ranging from autonomous driving, to car sharing, electric charging, and connectivity. But perhaps the most ambitious idea put forth by Toyota in its latest concept car goes by the name of Hana (Honda Automated Network Assistant). It is meant to be a helper as well as a companion. "Artificial intelligence is becoming more and more important in vehicles because we want to kind of have a relationship with the vehicle rather than the vehicle just doing things on its own," says Nick Renner, who helped design NeuV. Hana can sense a driver's emotions through heart rate monitoring and face recognition, as well as carry on a conversation.

Honda is another carmaker focused on supplementing the driving experience with an emotional, AI-based component. The NeuV, Honda's latest concept which it unveiled at CES on Thursday, is a city-friendly lightweight electric car that has Honda's Automated Network Assistant (HANA), built with SoftBank, on board to help personalize the driving experience. Through HANA, the car becomes aware of a driver's emotions and moods, and can support driving choices as well as suggest media do other infotainment options. NeuV has other tricks up its sleeve, too. The all-electric vehicle is designed to answer the issue of idle vehicles, which is most cars most of the time, according to recent studies, that show up to 96 percent idea rates for vehicles where they're just sitting in driveways or otherwise parked.

For the 100-year-plus history of the automobile, cars have generated plenty of emotions. But those feelings have occurred in humans. Honda is looking to change that dynamic, and is ready to showcase how at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month. It's called the "NeuV," and according to Honda it's "a concept automated EV commuter vehicle equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) called'emotion engine' that creates new possibilities for human interaction and new value for customers." "Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data to transform the mobility experience, Honda today announced that'Cooperative Mobility Ecosystem' will be the theme for its participation at the 2017 [CES]," the automaker said in a statement.

The Honda NeuV is a concept automated EV designed to understand human emotions by using AI technology created by Japan-based Cocoro SB. If you remember Pepper, the humanoid designed to keep you company by responding to your feelings, then know that Cocoro SB is the company working with Honda on this new project. Honda plans to bring a more personal touch to driving experience with the Honda NeuV concept. While much in the of exact specifics have yet to surface, you can expect to see a demo at this year's CES in January. How will Honda integrate this AI technology into the upcoming concept and are there plans to push this into the rest of its vehicles?

Chances are you either love or hate your car -- and soon the feeling could be mutual. Japanese automaker Honda will showcase a concept car at the Consumer Electronics Show next month that is capable of understanding the driver's emotions and developing emotions of its own, the company announced this week. The company provided few details as to how the technology will work or alter the driving experience. But we do know that the concept car, called the NeuV, is being touted as an automated electric vehicle that includes an "emotion engine." That's the name for artificial intelligence that Honda says will "enable machines to artificially generate their own emotions."