There has been much talk into the ability of tomorrow’s smart cars that have the capacity of augmenting the human driver at the steering wheel of all vehicles. While the driver may not be totally eliminated form the total driving experience, there are technologies in development and use that are designed to augment the driver’s abilities with respect to vision, reaction time and collision avoidance. Technologies in development like the ones currently being researched and proven by the Japanese car manufacturer Honda, their ASV and DSSS systems are designed to lay out the future of smart cars that talk to each other and communicate with traffic computers allowing them real time data acquisition form other vehicles.
Additions of vision augmentation such as the ones used by Mercedes that have built in IR emitters that are seen by an onboard camera that allows drivers to see in front of the vehicle and at the rear when parking avoiding hidden dangers that cannot be revealed even with current HID technologies. Adaptive lighting also used by newer Mercedes cars which has servos and sensors that maintains the most amount of light on the road and out of the face of drivers in oncoming vehicles is also making roads safer and better to drive. Blind corner detection which Mazda is developing is also to take part in the development of an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) that would be the framework of tomorrow’s smart roads where cars and drivers are able to gain information form each other and directly form the traffic management people.
Technology has gone a long way in terms of improving the safety and ease at which we drive tomorrow’s cars but the question on how far we would allow these technologies to take over our vehicles is for us to say and many still feel uncomfortable at letting technology rule our lives. That’s why we still have pilots when planes can fly themselves without them and Ship Captains when current high-tech ships can sail on their own. The human ability to react and reason is still the best technology when it comes to risk analysis and no computer can top the intuitive human touch to date.

Written by Marcel on May 19, 2008 | 1 Comment

Next in line, is technology that is mostly associated with fighter jets rather than cars. Done guessing? Its HUD’s or Head’s Up Display which display’s information onto the windshield eliminating the need, again to turn your head to change the song that is currently being played on the audio system and other car functions such as the current speed. Smarter GPS systems are getting smarter, for as more and more systems go online, so does your car. The LR2 from Land Rover has a GPS navigation system that has the ability to give directions to all the nearest emergency facilities such as hospitals. Along with the many other information such as directions, the nearest restaurant and distance from destination GPS is continuing to become more than a way top track your car and progress but enables the car to become smarter. Some vehicles have rear-view cameras that assists the driver when backing up which is usually the hardest thing to do, especially with large or high vehicles. Voice recognition technology is also finding its way into the auto industry allowing the driver to keep his eyes on the road instead of looking for the volume button or change channel on the audio system. Tied up to all the high tech systems on board, it can be used to control almost anything; the sunroof, cell phone, navigation system and much more. In the US, tire monitoring systems have become mandatory since September 1, 2007 and they have the ability to show the pressure of all four tires. Some models also have smart air pressure systems that automatically add or bleed air to maintain equal pressures as needed.

Written by Marcel on March 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment