On Tuesday, Zoom revealed a partnership with the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles, Tesla, to enable video conferencing in cars. The news was revealed during Zoom’s yearly Zoomtopia conference, where the company routinely reveals upcoming features to assist remote calls.
Zoom is collaborating with the Elon Musk-run Tesla to integrate video conferencing features into electric automobiles. Natasha Walia, group product manager for Zoom, made the revelation at the Zoomtopia 2022 Event on Tuesday and showed a quick video of it in action in a Tesla Model Y.
Zoomtopia is a conference where Zoom routinely reveals upcoming features to assist remote calls. The Zoom application is likely to utilize Tesla’s in-cabin camera, which is placed above the rear-view mirror. The camera would be as a live feed in the Zoom app and the driver can also what the camera is monitoring.
Nitasha Walia, group product manager at Zoom noted at the event, “You’ve been zooming from your home, your office, your phone and even your TV. We’re going to make it even easier for you to zoom from anywhere.”
Although the feature has earlier sparked worries over driver privacy, the cabin camera’s primary purpose is to monitor driver alertness while Autopilot is activated and allows the vehicle to offer aural alerts or warnings. Additional questions about the access privileges given to third-party apps may be raised if Zoom uses the in-car camera.
There is no set timeframe for the arrival of Zoom integration, but it will come to “all new Tesla models soon.” Other information, such as whether Zoom will only function on WiFi or whether Tesla customers who right now pay for the Premium Connectivity add-on will be allowed to make calls using the car’s data plan, is still unknown.
As per Verge, Zoom calls will probably be disabled unless the car is parked because the feature’s demonstration video doesn’t show the vehicle moving during a call.
Tesla has been considering the feature itself for years. Zoom calls in Tesla automobiles are “definitely a future feature,” Elon Musk stated in a tweet in May 2020. Drivers claimed it would provide them another private capacity to take calls and take advantage of the available in-camera, present in certain Teslas, and large display, In the initial days of the Covid-19 outbreak, Musk received a plethora of tweets asking for Zoom integration.
At the event, Zoom also unveiled several new features. Users can now access their calendars and emails without leaving the Zoom platform with the help of Calendar Clients and Zoom Mail. Prominent calendar and e-mail services will be directly integrated into Zoom, allowing users to access their conversations and appointments more quickly and collaborate more effectively.
The company stated that only users in Canada and USA would have access to the beta versions of the Calendar Clients and Zoom Mail. Zoom Spots, a persistent video-enabled place incorporated within the Zoom service, will launch in early 2023 to promote inclusive conversations and keep coworkers engaged.
When it launches in early 2023, Zoom Virtual Agent will be able to be used both as an independent chatbot and as a fully integrated part of Zoom Contact Center.
The Zoom news arrives as traditional automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Volkswagen, together with Tesla, confront increasing competition in the market for electric vehicles. Investors are worried that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter may cause him to become too preoccupied to properly solve Tesla’s issues.
Zoom and Musk’s businesses haven’t always had a cordial working relationship. For instance, in April 2020, SpaceX forbade its staff from using Zoom due to serious security and privacy concerns.
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