Since its inception, the automotive industry has been constantly advancing with improvements and innovations. The pace of change has quickened in recent years, however, as the reliance on even-faster evolving computer technology has grown. Canada AM took a week-long look at the state of current and future of car technology, and we've got the highlights.
Drivers' Aids
Many manufacturers offer several different systems to help drivers keep themselves and their passengers safe. Many of the systems, once only available on top-of-the-line luxury cars, are now available on family cars.
The 2015 Chrysler 200, for instance, can be purchased with optional parking assistance that, via a simple push of a button, helps detect an empty parking space. Then, the driver needs only control the gas-pedal and brake as the car "parks itself."
Like other automated parallel parking systems, getting it just right is such a matter of trial-and-error that it might be faster to do it yourself. But if you are not comfortable with parallel parking, or you don't have the patience for it, it is a good system to have.
Adaptive cruise control is another system finding its way into family cars including the new Hyundai Genesis Sedan. Using it will be familiar to those who use traditional cruise control, the difference being that the system will keep the vehicle a set distance from the traffic ahead by adjusting speed accordingly. It will even come to a complete stop, should the vehicle ahead suddenly stop.
Night Vision Detection System sounds like something from a science-fiction movie, but BMW is currently offering the system that uses infrared cameras to pedestrians, animals and other objects well before the vehicle headlights pick them up.
Brand new to the market is Volvo's Road Departure System offered in their completely redesigned 2016 XC90. The system detects when the driver accidently goes off the road. When that happens, a series of measures designed to reduce possible injuries automatically kick in, including tightening up safety-belts, activating airbags, and retracting the brake-pedal.
Cadillac is in the process of developing their own tracking software that combines infrared cameras and adaptive cruise control. The aim is to detect any obstacles the driver may not have noticed, from pedestrians to other cars, and bring the vehicle to a safe stop before a crash.
Driverless Cars?
Sorry road warriors, but it appears that self-driving cars are the future. Mercedes is already marketing a vehicle that essentially drives itself, though the driver has to keep hands on the steering wheel. BMW and Audi are also in the process of developing self-driving vehicles that leave some room for human intervention. Google, meanwhile, is taking the technology to another level with its self-driving prototypes that leave the steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedals out altogether.
They could be hitting the roads relatively soon, if tests go as hoped. In 2015, there will be a trial of fully automated electric taxis in England and, according to Barrie Kirk, Executive Director of CAVCOE (Canadian Automotive Vehicle Centre of Excellence), the first fully driverless vehicles could be hitting the market by 2019.
While some may find the prospect of computer-controlled cars scary, Kirk says, considering that 93 per cent of all traffic collisions involve human error, they're intended to save lives.
Besides the necessary technological advances, however, traffic laws and even the insurance business will need to change too.
Insurance specialist Lloyds of London has studied the issue, and concluded that the potential reduction in car crashes would lead to tighter insurance profit margins; policies may have to switch from covering drivers, to covering the cars themselves; and drivers may have to be trained to recognize the limits of vehicle autonomy, rather than the mechanics of driving.
When it comes to new car technology, where do you draw the line?
