Start your Hyundai remotely with voice commands

Imagine it's 40 degrees outside, and the intense sun has been beating down on your car all day long. Spend too long outside and you'll be flash-fried by lethal UV radiation. Get in your car and you'll be roasted alive.

Hyundai has cooked up a cool new solution to this scenario with its Blue Link Agent and Google Assistant integration, which can be operated via the Google Home device and allows owners to start their cars remotely via voice command.

In other words, owners can simply say "Ok Google, tell Blue Link to start my Santa Fe and set the temperature to 22 degrees". And, hey presto, the car will be ready to roll – and not baking-hot inside – when you're ready to leave.

The technology cooperation between Hyundai and Google is being presented at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and allows owners to lock, unlock and even start their cars via voice control. Owners can also verbalise navigation directions and even manage charging times for their Ioniq plug-in hybrid cars remotely.

Already taking off in the USA and Europe, connected car technology and remote voice control can provide new cars with the same level of connectivity as smart appliances and gadgets within the home.

Although Australians are unlikely to be able to use this technology out of the box with a 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe, the local importer has expressed interest in the technology.

Hyundai Australia's public relations General Manager, Bill Thomas, told motoring.com.au that while the Aussie market's size means we won't see anything in the short term, car connectivity, including remote voice activation, is on the drawing board.

"It's unlikely in the near future but certainly something we're studying," he said. "The US market is that much bigger, so commercially it works there better.

"But as with all international programmes, it's something we're looking at closely for the Australian market."

There have been legal impediments facing the introduction of advanced vehicle technology in Australia, a highly regulated market. However, as more advanced features and controls become widespread across more makes and models, and with autonomous vehicles coming to Australia, the legislature is slowing changing.

Hyundai's new voice-activated car connectivity systems could theoretically be applied to cars available in Oz today. The Australian Design Rule - Definitions and Vehicle Categories 2005 – states that "Engine Start Control" can involve "a hand-operated device that enables the driver to activate the vehicle's propulsion system.

"This includes but is not limited to a remote, key or push button device."