Auto Mode

Alexa Auto - Amazon

Auto Mode in the Alexa App lets you see and do more with your supported Alexa auto accessory by turning your phone into a smart, driver-friendly display that enhances Alexa's in-vehicle voice experience. Auto Mode was designed to help you stay focused on the road with easy to read visuals, large touch targets and intuitive features and shortcuts for the most common actions used in the vehicle like navigating to saved locations, placing calls to contacts and Alexa devices, and playing recent media. Hints at the bottom of the page are provided to help you to discover new features you can perform with Alexa.

Auto Mode consists of four screens - the Auto Mode home screen, Navigation, Communicate, and Play - and a persistent menu bar allows users to quickly switch between them.

About

Problems to Solve

Customers don’t trust their vehicles’ voice assistants, and many don’t even have one. These customers tend to weave in and out of various mobile apps to complete their tasks (music, navigation, calling) while on-the-go. 

Customer Problems

Alexa can’t reach customers in older vehicles, which limits our reach. Customers purchasing a new car may not be as inclined to buy a car with Alexa (as opposed to CarPlay or Android Auto); if they have never used Alexa before.

Business Problems

Constraints

No PM/requirements

Automotive environment (safety)

Multiple domain teams

Alexa Mobile App (AMA) Platform

Echo Auto Hardware (optional compatible device)

System Overview

  • Home Screen

    The Auto Mode home screen is designed to provide one-touch access to your frequent actions, with shortcuts to play and pause your current media source, navigate to home or work, and to make a call. You can simply tap on the shortcut to initiate the action or ask Alexa, for example "Alexa, continue playing my music."

  • Navigate

    The Navigate screen provides quick access to your favorite locations stored in the Alexa app. Choosing a destination will open your preferred navigation app and begin guidance. You can switch back to the Alexa app using only your voice by simply asking, "Alexa, go back to the Alexa app." You can also ask Alexa to help you find someplace new, for example, "Alexa, find nearby coffee shops." As Alexa reads back the responses, Auto Mode displays a simplified list showing only the most relevant information, allowing you to either use your voice to make a selection or simply touch on it to begin navigation.

  • Communicate

    The Communicate screen allows you to easily place a call, Drop In, or make an announcement to your Alexa devices. You can ask Alexa to initiate the action or touch your selection, and Auto Mode will provide an easy to read list of your contacts and devices. For example, if you want to let your family know you are headed home, you can say "Alexa, announce I am on my way home," or simply tap on the screen and Alexa will do the rest.

  • Play

    The Play screen shows your most current media played using any Alexa device and a convenient button to play or pause, along with a list of recently played media. Selecting any of the items in the list starts playing the media and brings up the Now Playing screen which provides additional controls specific to the type of media being played and the service used. You can stay entertained while on the go just by asking Alexa or using Auto Mode's shortcuts and easy touch controls.

Launch

You can use this today by purchasing Echo Auto and downloading the Alexa App