Cars keeps
getting more and more advanced but as they get more advance, we seem to notice
it a little less each time. I remember being ecstatic as a kid when my Mom’s
new van had an automatic sliding door. To me, that was revolutionary. Many cars
now possess collision avoidance, lane guidance, sensor-driven driving
correction, WiFi-hotspots, and smart cruise control. But most of these features
are hidden away and we hardly even realize they are there until we need them.
The big thing that isn’t hidden are these tablets or minicomputers right smack
dab in the center of your car’s dash. Referred to as “telematics” systems,
these systems house most of the features you would use on a daily basis, i.e.
navigation system, radio, climate control. Many cars come standard with a back
up camera (soon to mandatory in all cars by 2018) that either shows up in a
little screen right on your rear view mirror or on your dashboard. Some cars
even offer more cameras, which allow you to see from all angles and can even
assist in parking and other features.
Most of
these telematics systems house a navigation system in them too but
unfortunately they are not like the navigation systems most of are use to;
Google Maps and Apple Maps. Luckily for you, these phone based navigation
systems will soon be available in cars with the integration of Apple CarPlay
and Google Auto. Basically what these do is allow your car’s in-dash display to
show apps from your phone. “CarPlay takes the things you want to do with your
iPhone while driving and puts them right on your car’s built-in display. You
get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, and listen to music, all
in a way that allows you to stay focused on the road.” With Apple CarPlay, you
can control your dash through voice or touch. CarPlay features Siri voice
control that is specially designed for driving scenarios. Another great feature
is being apple to uses Apple maps. Not only does it predict traffic conditions
and adjusts for them, but it can also predict where you most likely want to go
using addresses from your email, text messages, contacts, and calendars.
So how
smart are cars getting at this point? Well we can look at Google and, although
they are still in their testing phase, they have been quit successful with
their self-driving cars. Google hopes to have their car fully operationally
within a year or so and to make the self-driving car a reality for everyday
drivers. Google is only one of the many companies working on self-driving cars
with plenty of others applying for permits to make their cars street legal too.
It is still not clear when the general public will be able to use them though
since the DMV will not allow the general public to use self-driving cars until
it’s certain they are safe to the public.
Possibly in
the next few years we can all be tweeting, instagraming, and watching live
sports as we zip around in our WiFi-hotspot self-driving cars spending more
time using the technology that we barely realize we have and take for granted. Best part, they’ll just take you to where you
want to go without you saying because your car will know everything about you.
Thanks for the interesting post Brick. I didn't realize that we were so close to having self driving cars being available to the public within the next few years. While the advances that Google is making with their designs are revolutionary, I can't help but feel that all this technology will make us lazy. I myself drive a stick-shift car and find that the added involvement of changing gears keeps me curious to what my car is doing. This curiosity in my mind is what drives people to accrue more knowledge of how things work. If cars begin to get more automated and us as a people more distracted, do you think this will threaten the 'curiosity' of individuals who might have become future engineers?
ReplyDeleteNice write-up. I was having this discussion with a friend about a day ago about these self-driving cars and although he was welcoming to it, I am against it. Audi made a commercial of their A7 which will sport this self-driving tech and how you could send your car to park through the app and even call it to come to your location. All very useful, until someone smashes your windows in between it being parked and it getting to you. These driverless cars will never anticipate such events and besides, shouldn't we be fearing that soon enough people will discover how to hack into these cars and give them driving instructions to the middle of nowhere? And what happens if you lose your phone? Youre pretty much screwed. The automobile was made to be driven, not to tote you around while you're having wine in the back seat.
ReplyDeleteNice post, very interesting. Your memory of the automatic door reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad got a new truck that had mirrors in the corners of the ceiling behind the back seats to allow you to see your blind spots and I thought it was just the most genius idea ever. The idea of self-driving cars, while an incredible technological feat and clearly a demonstration of mankind's brilliance, kind of freaks me out though. Even though it is fairly unlikely for a computer system to make a mistake while driving (or at least no more than a human is), I don't think I could ever get used to myself or other just sitting idly while our cars drive themselves. I'd just rather be in control myself, even if I'm more likely to make a mistake that way. I feel like an automated car loses the sense of intuition or foresight that is so important while driving. Nevertheless though, I find it fascinating that cars are quietly becoming so technologically advanced that, as you pointed out, we often don't notice or even know what some of the technologies are (ABS, for example).
ReplyDeleteHello, and nice post. I share your enthusiasm about autonomous vehicles. Here's an interesting point to consider in a world of autonomous vehicles: is there a point in owning one? Say you and your family want to go see a movie that starts at 4:00. At 3:15 you open an app on your phone, and request that a vehicle able to carry four passengers get you to the movies by 4:00. The closest unused vehicle, already knowing your location, starts making its way to your house to pick up you and your family, and your app tells you precisely how long it will be until it arrives. By the designated time, the driverless vehicle pulls into your driveway, ready to take you to the movies. Once it drops you off at your destination, it gets back onto the road, ready to pick up the next user. And before the movie starts, you request a car to arrive at 5:50, shortly after the movie ends, in order to go home.
ReplyDeleteIf virtually all vehicles on the road are autonomous, such a service would likely to exist. And in urban and suburban areas, where there will be a fleet of these vehicles at the ready, it seems that owning a car would be more of a hobby than a necessity.