Bashow Inc. Releases Google Built-in In-Car App
Bashow Inc. has publicly released 'Local Voice Guide,' a Google built-in in-car application. This app, like its smartphone counterpart 'Bashow,' provides audio guidance on local topics while on the move, aiming to become an infrastructure function for numerous future in-car apps.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 30, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 30, 2026 at 19:55 (9h 24m after Collected)
On April 30, 2026, Bashow Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Masashi Hodotsuka; hereinafter 'the Company') publicly released 'Local Voice Guide,' a Google built-in in-car application. This app, like the smartphone version of its local topic guidance app 'Bashow,' provides audio guidance on small topics around the current location while on the move. As numerous in-car apps are expected to emerge in the future, we aim for this publicly released local topic guidance to become an infrastructure function for various in-car applications.
App screen on in-car display
Please refer to the link below for a video of our app in action:
https://youtu.be/HGhd7ZtTFv4
◆What is Google built-in?
Google built-in is a system and service provided by Google where apps are directly integrated into the vehicle's main system. Unlike 'Android Auto' or 'Apple CarPlay,' which connect smartphones to car audio systems to use smartphone apps, Google built-in allows users to directly download and use in-car apps developed for Android Automotive OS (AAOS), an operating system built into the vehicle itself. It can directly acquire data from the vehicle and, depending on the vehicle's settings, can also control in-car devices. Google built-in compatible vehicles come with Google Maps and Google Assistant by default, and additional AAOS-compatible in-car apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. As of April 2026, compatible Japanese brands include, for example, Nissan's 'Serena,' 'X-Trail,' 'Leaf,' 'Sakura,' and Honda's 'ZR-V,' 'CR-V,' 'Prelude,' 'Civic,' 'Accord.'
◆Overview of the newly released in-car app
Our in-car app 'Local Voice Guide' is AAOS compatible and can be directly downloaded and used on Google built-in compatible vehicles. The app's functionality, similar to our already released smartphone app (app name 'Bashow,' for iOS and Android), provides short audio guidance every few minutes on topics around the user's current location while on the move. Topics include, for example, 'That XX cafe there has delicious XX' or 'The XX shrine nearby has a history of...' Our system repeatedly generates a vast number of topics based on public information, with topics dotted every 100m in urban areas.
The screen layout on the in-car display, although slightly varying by compatible vehicle model, largely shows a map of the current location, while displaying a list of store and facility names mentioned in the audio topics on the left edge of the screen. Numbers indicate the locations of stores and facilities on the map. When the vehicle is stopped, tapping a store or facility name from the list will display the topic text or a QR code linking to the store's or facility's website. The frequency of topic guidance can be selected from 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, or 5 minutes.
◆Future Development
The in-car app released this time is still under development. We aim to explore directions for improvement by making it publicly available quickly and gathering feedback from users.
Looking ahead to the 2030s, it is anticipated that various in-car apps using diverse in-car sensors and devices will be provided by players from various fields such as entertainment, tourism, and advertising. At that time, we will explore the possibility of our local topic guidance function being used as infrastructure for these in-car apps. For example, we envision a scenario where an in-car app features a popular anime character as a 'buddy' who amusingly guides users through topics while on the move.
Furthermore, as announced in our March 26, 2026 release, 'Bashow Inc. Begins Operation of 'Timing Judgment Function' Aiming for Fundamental Systemization in the SDV Era,' we are simultaneously developing and operating local topic guidance services like the 'Bashow' smartphone app and 'Local Voice Guide' in-car app, while also progressing with the construction of our proprietary AI that dynamically delivers content based on real-world environments and situations. By using data obtained from this newly released in-car app as a learning set, we will further advance the evolution of our proprietary AI.
◆Inquiries
Bashow Inc.
Nihonbashi Mizuno Building 7F, 1-11-12 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director Masashi Hodotsuka
info@bashow.co.jp
For basic information about our company, please see here.
Keywords:
App screen on in-car display
Please refer to the link below for a video of our app in action:
https://youtu.be/HGhd7ZtTFv4
◆What is Google built-in?
Google built-in is a system and service provided by Google where apps are directly integrated into the vehicle's main system. Unlike 'Android Auto' or 'Apple CarPlay,' which connect smartphones to car audio systems to use smartphone apps, Google built-in allows users to directly download and use in-car apps developed for Android Automotive OS (AAOS), an operating system built into the vehicle itself. It can directly acquire data from the vehicle and, depending on the vehicle's settings, can also control in-car devices. Google built-in compatible vehicles come with Google Maps and Google Assistant by default, and additional AAOS-compatible in-car apps can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. As of April 2026, compatible Japanese brands include, for example, Nissan's 'Serena,' 'X-Trail,' 'Leaf,' 'Sakura,' and Honda's 'ZR-V,' 'CR-V,' 'Prelude,' 'Civic,' 'Accord.'
◆Overview of the newly released in-car app
Our in-car app 'Local Voice Guide' is AAOS compatible and can be directly downloaded and used on Google built-in compatible vehicles. The app's functionality, similar to our already released smartphone app (app name 'Bashow,' for iOS and Android), provides short audio guidance every few minutes on topics around the user's current location while on the move. Topics include, for example, 'That XX cafe there has delicious XX' or 'The XX shrine nearby has a history of...' Our system repeatedly generates a vast number of topics based on public information, with topics dotted every 100m in urban areas.
The screen layout on the in-car display, although slightly varying by compatible vehicle model, largely shows a map of the current location, while displaying a list of store and facility names mentioned in the audio topics on the left edge of the screen. Numbers indicate the locations of stores and facilities on the map. When the vehicle is stopped, tapping a store or facility name from the list will display the topic text or a QR code linking to the store's or facility's website. The frequency of topic guidance can be selected from 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes, or 5 minutes.
◆Future Development
The in-car app released this time is still under development. We aim to explore directions for improvement by making it publicly available quickly and gathering feedback from users.
Looking ahead to the 2030s, it is anticipated that various in-car apps using diverse in-car sensors and devices will be provided by players from various fields such as entertainment, tourism, and advertising. At that time, we will explore the possibility of our local topic guidance function being used as infrastructure for these in-car apps. For example, we envision a scenario where an in-car app features a popular anime character as a 'buddy' who amusingly guides users through topics while on the move.
Furthermore, as announced in our March 26, 2026 release, 'Bashow Inc. Begins Operation of 'Timing Judgment Function' Aiming for Fundamental Systemization in the SDV Era,' we are simultaneously developing and operating local topic guidance services like the 'Bashow' smartphone app and 'Local Voice Guide' in-car app, while also progressing with the construction of our proprietary AI that dynamically delivers content based on real-world environments and situations. By using data obtained from this newly released in-car app as a learning set, we will further advance the evolution of our proprietary AI.
◆Inquiries
Bashow Inc.
Nihonbashi Mizuno Building 7F, 1-11-12 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director Masashi Hodotsuka
info@bashow.co.jp
For basic information about our company, please see here.
Keywords: