Microsoft May Use Cortana to Control Its Windows in the Car System

Last year, Microsoft unveiled Windows-in-the-car concept. At the time, it shied away from explaining how people would interact with the system - but now it's revealed that it could be powered by its smart assistant, Cortana.


At a Microsoft event being held in Taiwan today, the chief operating officer Samuel Shen of Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research announced that the company has been working on a system that projects Cortana onto the windshield of a car. There, he explained, you'd be able to see maps or check your appointments while still paying attention to the road. Neat.

The system is still very much a prototype for now, though - albeit one that appears to be progressing nicely - and we still appear to be some way off Microsoft launching an in-car version of Windows 10. 

Microsoft's helped create in-car systems in the past, but it's struggled to crate a unified product, instead producing custom, one-off systems for the likes of Ford and BMW. "We have not launched similar products due to the high cost," explained Shen today, "but we hope to have further discussions with Taiwanese partners to jointly explore future possibilities."

That's what it'll have to do, if it's to compete with Apple's own CarPlay - Cortana or otherwise.