Byton, the China-based electric vehicle manufacturer, has announced a wide range of partnerships which will enliven the user experience, centered on a 48-inch display, the ‘Byton Stage’. The company claims that each of these partners bring a unique dimension to the in-car experience of the Byton M-Byte. It has also announced the 'Byton Developer Program' as a way for innovators to further enrich the Byton experience.

Byton CEO Daniel Kirchert said, “When BYTON committed to creating the first smart device on wheels, this is exactly the kind of engagement we had in mind. The BYTON M-Byte with its unique user experience will offer developers the opportunity to present in-car interactions in a way that is more engaging than ever before.”

Byton partners with ViacomCBS and Access for unparalleled video experience
ViacomCBS and Access announced a partnership in 2019 to make the global media and entertainment company's TV brands accessible to vehicle passengers via the Access Twine for Car system. From this partnership, Access will be able to supply ViacomCBS content to Byton's industry leading 48-inch screen display. The ‘Byton Stage’ offers a platform unlike any other in the automotive industry to present video content. A rich video experience will make spending time in the Byton M-Byte between journeys every bit as engaging as time spent on the road.

Andreas Schaaf – Byton CCO said, "Our aim is to make the Byton M-Byte a seamless part of your digital life and easy access to compelling video content will be integral to that experience. Visitors to our CES 2020 booth will see how we are working with Access and ViacomCBS to provide infotainment experiences that can only be fully realised with our groundbreaking Byton Stage."

Sven Eckoldt, global product director at Access Europe said, "EV manufacturers like Byton are a prime example of how disruptive innovation is transforming the market, which fits perfectly into our vision for an immersive, multimedia future inside the car.” 

Ray Hopkins, president, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS said, "The future of in-vehicle infotainment is an exciting opportunity to strengthen and extend our connection to our audiences within today's fragmented media environment. We look forward to building upon our relationship with Access and Byton to reimagine the entertainment experience for a new and captive generation of drivers and passengers."

Byton and AccuWeather combine weather and route info for the road ahead
Byton users will have access to hyper-local forecasting technology from AccuWeather, a company that provides worldwide weather forecasting. As part of the Byton connected car strategy, the M-Byte, using AccuWeather, will not only report the weather conditions on-demand but intuitively inform users of upcoming changes in weather at their destination.

Jeff Chung, vice president of Digital Engineering at Byton said, "There are few external influences that matter more to drivers than weather. AccuWeather will provide Byton users with critical information that will allow them to plan for the road ahead."

Steven R. Smith, president at AccuWeather said, "Saving lives and protecting property is part of our mission statement at AccuWeather, and the primary reason why AccuWeather has invested in the global connected car industry. By partnering with Byton, AccuWeather can give drivers increased situational awareness, with minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts along their route.”

Aiqudo and Byton enable voice command of mobile apps
Byton users will be able to safely leverage the ubiquity of their smartphones with Aiqudo's Voice to Action platform by allowing voice commands in the vehicle to seamlessly engage with mobile apps, via Bluetooth, using simple and natural language commands.

Dr Rajat Mukherjee, Aiqudo co-founder and CTO said, "Byton's vision of the car as a smart device on wheels, future-proofed for autonomous driving, with an expansive canvas for rich media consumption, will accelerate the need that users have to access their personal digital lives everywhere. The integration of the Aiqudo platform within Byton's automobiles makes this easy, enabling rich hybrid experiences powered by voice and touch!" 

Aiqudo's Q Action engine automatically figures out which app you mean to call up with your preferred action, so you can focus on getting things done. To further enhance the experience, the Aiqudo solution supports Byton's rich graphical user interface for visual information and touch interaction.

The Aiqudo solution is globally deployed with support for multiple languages and interaction with thousands of apps, including the most popular apps in each market.

Byton and CloudCar enable points-of-interest searches through popular apps
Byton and CloudCar aim to redefine the in-vehicle user experience through a voice-first, natural-language interface that is ideally suited for drivers. The CloudCar platform's on-board and cloud-based infrastructure provides global access to unified, infotainment services. Its expanding network of content partners work together to provide the best possible experience from the comfort of the M-Byte.

Jeff Chung, Vice President of Digital Engineering at Byton said, "Access to cloud-based information and services will be integral to the Byton user experience. CloudCar, with their voice interface, will make that easier and more comfortable.”

Philipp Popov, CEO of CloudCar, said: "CloudCar is proud to be selected as a key enabling technology partner for the new Byton digital platform. Combining their unique interaction capabilities with our production-proven infotainment platform that simplifies access to compelling content from numerous providers across multiple content domains will greatly enhance the overall mobility experience for active drivers and their passengers. We are excited for the incredible customer experiences that this combination of technologies will enable."

Plan your road trip on the go with BYTON and Road.Travel
Byton and Road.Travel together offer a solution for easy online trip booking to worldwide destinations with curated recommendations for every leg of the journey. Trips can be customised to match a specific budget or created on demand with the help of AI. Road.Travel will offer notifications about nearby places to eat or visit and help with reservations. 

Jeff Chung, Vice President of Digital Engineering at Byton said, "Partnered with BYTON, Road.Travel offers a trip-planning platform that integrates with the in-car infotainment system. Road.Travel can provide updates and information on the Byton Stage, thereby enriching your travel experience."

Nikita Dedik, founder and CEO of Road.Travel, remarks, "We are pleased to share our vision of trip planning for the era of connected, electric, and autonomous cars with Byton. What we also share is the startup culture in our work and the mindset, which is a very solid ground for a synergistic collaboration." 

XPERI brings Digital HD Radio and DTS Connected Radio to the Byton M-Byte
Byton in partnership with Xperi will bring HD Radio into the M-Byte experience. Using digital audio broadcasting technology, HD Radio by Xperi, stations offer crystal-clear digital audio, multiple channels of programming per station, and rich text and image metadata onto the BYTON Stage. Today, HD Radio is widely supported in the US with more than 2,300 individual stations, offering over 4,000 digital audio services.

Byton's support of DTS Connected Radio allows automatic switching to a station's IP audio stream, when driving out of the terrestrial broadcast coverage area. 

Bob Dillon, senior vice president of DTS Connected Radio at XPERI Corporation, remarks, "The combination of Byton's game-changing cockpit and the familiarity and richness of Android, along with tools that marry the two, are unique. The DTS Connected Radio product is a game-changing automotive radio experience. We look forward to applying it to this infotainment system and tools and will work toward generations of innovation on this unique platform."

Byton Developer Program invites innovators for Platform for Life
The ‘Byton Developer’ program offers a platform to create and integrate content and services that will begin to unlock the full potential of the company's pathbreaking user interface, centered on the 48-inch Byton Stage.

Jeff Chung, Vice President of Digital Engineering at Byton said, "We knew from the outset that in order to deliver the industry's first ‘Smart Device on Wheels’, we would need to invite partners to create truly compelling interactions. We also believe that Byton's unique user interface offers developers a challenge and an opportunity to engage with an in-car experience like none they ever seen." 

As part of the Byton Developer Program, the company released UX Design documentation and app development guidelines for partners and developers. Byton is developing apps and services for entertainment, health, productivity, eCommerce and other experiences that seamlessly merge the mobile and automotive worlds.

Neil Banerjee, head of Digital Product and Program Management, Digital Engineering at Byton said, "We have been working with innovative companies like Access, Accuweather, Aiqudo, CloudCar, Road.Travel and XPERI to co-create compelling solutions while creating a developer environment to accommodate growing interest from technology companies that are motivated by Byton's ground-breaking in-car experience.”

Byton to develop stationary energy storage systems for residential and commercial applications
Given the rapidly growing market for energy storage, Byton plans to develop energy storage systems based on the M-Byte battery technology. These energy storage systems will be manufactured in the Nanjing battery assembly line.

"We have the technology and manufacturing capacity to assemble batteries into safe, efficient and cost-competitive packs. We view this as a major business opportunity with the start of sales of the M-Byte," says Byton CEO Daniel Kirchert.