Kakao Mobility Partners with Google to Launch Android Auto 'Driver App'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao Mobility announced on the 15th that it will launch the driver application (hereinafter referred to as the driver app) supporting Android Auto for the first time in East Asia in collaboration with Google.

The Android Auto driver app features an interface optimized for vehicle displays by directly connecting the Kakao T Taxi driver app on smartphones. The app enhances convenience significantly by implementing functions specialized for the taxi operation environment, such as ▲call waiting ▲acceptance ▲navigation map ▲location, from app launch to operation on the vehicle's display.

Android Auto connects with vehicles compatible with Android smartphones and provides various functions such as media, messaging, and navigation. The development of this driver app is meaningful in that the end users of Google Android Auto are expanding from general drivers to service providers in the business sector.

Kakao Mobility plans to apply the Google Android Auto-supported driver app in the taxi sector. For the Google Android Auto driver app to be applied, the operating vehicle must support Google Android Auto, and the service must use a mobile meter. Therefore, it will first be applied to ‘Kakao T Venti’ and ‘Kakao T Black’. In the future, it will be expanded to Kakao T Blue, and in the long term, the company plans to review technology applicable to general mid-sized taxis equipped with mechanical meters.

Yoo Seung-il, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Kakao Mobility, said, “As we develop the first driver app introduced on Google Android Auto, we will actively incorporate the Kakao T Taxi platform technology and operational know-how that Kakao Mobility has built over many years to present a driver app that can be a good model even in overseas markets.” He added, “Through a long-term cooperative system with Google, we will continuously create synergy that can promote the development of the Korean IT ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, Kakao Mobility aims to participate in the development process of the Google Android Auto driver app template by the second quarter of this year and start development for application to the Kakao T Venti service in the third quarter. The company plans to launch the Kakao T Venti driver app supporting Android Auto within the second half of this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.