The automotive industry has always been one that is driven by technology. As it often is with machinery industries, there are always ways to improve with new technologies to bring about these improvements.
And now, in the digital age, where many innovations have roots in both the software and hardware, the automotive industry has witnessed more and more improvements. People are still visiting expos and car shows but there’s way more information available online than it was ever before – You have sites like cars.com, Find the Best Car Price (with their holiday discount lists), Kelley Blue Book (listing both new and used cars), Edmund’s, and more – Which are all go-to places when it’s about cars. And the stories of different tech innovations are multiplying too.
Here’s a quick survey of the tech in the automotive industry revealing the following trends:
1. Reduction In Air Pollution
For as long as the automotive industry has existed, one thing that has constantly plagued the industry is the problem of energy and everything that comes with it. Most cars use either gas or diesel engines. The production of these fuels alone leads to an insane amount of pollution of all sorts. And when these fuels get into the vehicles, inefficient combustion only leads to more pollution. Thankfully, the technologies behind the design of these engines have improved so much that vehicles now burn fuels more efficiently.
But in recent years, the need for a cleaner, eco-friendly alternative to gas and diesel engines drove the automotive industry to seek alternatives elsewhere. The technology of electric cars results from that need. Electric-powered vehicles are eco-friendly since they run on electricity alone.
The reception of vehicle users to electric cars in the auto industry has been magnificent. Over 2 million electric vehicles were sold in 2016 alone. And although fuel-powered vehicles are still the most purchased today, the sales of electric cars keep increasing year after year.
2. Vehicles Communicating With Everything
Have you even thought about what it would mean for you if vehicles could communicate with one another? There would be fewer car to car collisions, for sure. Before one car crashes into the other, the cars would have signaled to each other and would have made decisions to avoid the collision, thereby reducing the likelihood of road accidents, The name for this emerging tech is vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
The way V2V technology works is that each car transmits its speed, location, and direction through wireless signals. This way, other cars would “know” to keep a safe distance from one another. But where the bulk of the work is is developing an algorithm that allows vehicles to calculate evasive measures in split seconds to avoid collisions.
Another similar technology is vehicle-to-infrastructure technology. With this technology, there would be communication between vehicles and roadside infrastructures like traffic signals and road signs.
These technologies are still being tested and worked upon. But one can be sure that they would positively impact the way we see road traveling. As a result, there is a lot to be eager about.
3. Increased Safety
Safety is a major factor that always comes into consideration in the automotive industry, and rightly so. That is why automotive technologies are always coming up with new and innovative ways to ensure that we are safe. One of those techs that guarantee our safety is the airbag that helps to stop cars.
Since the invention of airbags in the automotive industry, these safety additions have found their way into almost all parts of our vehicles. Today, there are knee airbags, curtain airbags, seat belts, airbags, and some more. Despite the number of airbags that are there to reduce passenger injuries during accidents, more ways are being experimented with to help make them safer.
Mercedes, a major manufacturer in the automotive industry, is already working on airbags that deploy and stop the car right before it hits a barrier. This technology still needs a lot more work, but there is no doubt that this is already a tantalizing prospect.
4. Augmented Reality Dashboards For Better Driving Experience
This is a tech improvement in the automotive industry that has come to stay. Many recently manufactured vehicles now sport screens on their dashboards. Through these screens, drivers can interact with their cars and the world outside.
GPS is one of the most popular uses of these AR screens. With this application, drivers can easily find their way around places without being familiar with the directions. GPS applications like Google map even give you traffic details of the road ahead of you and may plot another route to get you out of traffic congestions. In-car displays are also another application of the AR dashboards. Drivers can adjust their car temperature, control entertainment, and do many other fancy things through the dashboards.
The applications of Augmented reality in the automotive industry are limitless. We haven’t even scratched the surface yet.
5. Self Driving Cars
The concept of self-driving cars is not new. It is a technology that has been in testing and improvement phases for a long time. And with the 5G technology, it is expected that self-driving cars would become very rampant in the near future.
The idea of self-driving cars is to help drivers do other things while they drive without having to sacrifice their full attention on the road. Imagine you are running late for an important meeting you have not prepared for. If you had a self-driving car, you could prepare for the meeting while your car drives you to work. Another important idea behind self-driving cars is the elimination of the leading cause of auto accidents: human error.
The technology behind self-driving cars involves a lot of artificial intelligence and machine learning, sensors, and many other tools. For instance, a self-driving car would need to be aware of its environment, and be able to recognize road signs and pedestrians. It should also be able to recognize barriers and make its way around them.
And since humans would need to entrust their lives and safety to self-driving cars, the cars are still being improved and worked upon to make sure that they are perfect and completely safe.
Conclusion
These are the latest trends in tech improvements in the automotive industry. These trends used to be only science fiction materials. But now, they are closer to reality than we could ever imagine. Welcome to the future of tech in the automotive industry.
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