Following its $32bn takeover of chip designer ARM Holdings, SoftBank's founder Masayoshi Son is now looking to develop talking cars that can read a driver's emotions.
The Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation is teaming up with Honda to look at ways of applying SoftBank's humanoid robotic technology to cars so they can communicate with drivers.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The announcement came after SoftBank agreed to buy British chip designer ARM Holdings which Son believes will play a central role in the tech industry's shift to the Internet of Things.
Softbank and Honda envisage a future in which the automaker's cars could speak and interact with their drivers via cloud-based technology based on SoftBank's 'Pepper', a life-sized robot that can read human emotions.
The two companies will research ways to assess a driver's speech, along with other data compiled by vehicle sensors and cameras, to gauge the driver's emotions and allow the vehicle to engage in conversation.
As a result, vehicles would be able to offer advice and support to drivers, such as during challenging driving or parking situations, while also providing company to drivers on long, solitary trips.
SoftBank has been making an aggressive push into AI, robotics and the IoT. Son has repeatedly said that IoT would bring "the biggest paradigm shift ever" in the tech industry.
The tie-up with Honda comes as automakers compete to develop self-driving cars. The company has been expanding research into artificial intelligence technology, announcing last month that it would establish a research facility in Tokyo in September.
