Cars have come a long way. Both in the literal and rhetorical sense of the phrase. What started off as a simple vehicle meant to transport goods and people, from point A to point B, with the help of a boxy frame and rubber wheels can now be considered a mobile computer. Fun fact for you: the first car didn’t even have four wheels. It was a three-wheeled, steam-guzzling “motor car” spewed forth as the first addition to the auto industry. Watching the same contraption cruising the streets today would probably seem sacrilegious in our current ambiance.
Cutting back to the present day, we have all sorts of auto-tech innovations bubbling out regularly. Constantly challenging the definition of what a car may be defined as. You have hybrids running a duo of electricity and gas, EVs nodding to the future of electrification, supercars chugging down on rocket fuel, and finally smart cars which serve as an amalgamation of all these. We’re going to get picky and focus our discussion today on the latter. Smart cars enjoy a unique distinction from their competition solely because of their technological integrations. They’re not bound to one particular niche of automobiles. This is the part where we ask you to strap in because we’re going to elaborate on that statement:.
AI Goodness
Artificial Intelligence has long been used in various facets of car manufacturing. And nowNow, AI is slowly yet surely making its way over to the interiors and exteriors of cars. Whether they are high-end productions like those of BMW and Mercedes or more budget options like those of Volvo or Honda. AI has become such a desired feature for buyers that every car manufacturer and their mother is racing to infuse whatever they can get their hands on into their vehicles.
For exteriors, proximity sensors are a subtle representation of this feature. Proximity sensors have been upgraded over the years to include 3D sensing technology, which presents a virtual, holistic view of your car on the infotainment screen. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have self-driving cars like those of Tesla. Interior-wise, there are no bounds to AI. Automatic room temperature sensing vents, Google or Apple integrated floating touch screens, and a delicious array of touch controls all make up a solid foundation for AI to deliver on almost all fronts.
Automated Diagnosis & Improvements
Smart car manufacturers are aggressively embedding internet capabilities into their vehicles for real-time updates and diagnosis. This is especially useful for self-driven cars. Telecommunication is of the utmost importance in a car that can substitute, more or less, for a computer. Having a robust, mobile internet connection like the one offered by Mediacom would allow a virtual umbrella of connectivity to be cast over the vehicle. Effectively allowing communication between a passenger and their applications on the go.
The Internet also allows car companies to issue updates directly to the vehicle. That’s not all, with security like that of Mediacom Internet, your car’s cyberspace would be readily safeguarded from hacks and lags so you can focus more on your task and less on scratching your head. This maintains ADAS functions like automatic braking and lane assist.
Executive Luxury
For those looking to spend a pretty penny, car giants are laying special importance on providing extra comfort and utility in their executive class lineup. The Mercedes Maybach is one such example. The latest iteration of the award-winning S class has been refreshed to exude a premium look (like always) but also with intelligent, top-of-the-line features. Mercedes’s design philosophy has always been a minimal one. That’s has not to say they don’t do not believe in pumping their cars chock full of expensive gadgets & gizmos. And Moreover, that’s exactly what the Maybach nails.
Hand-stitched leather seats, ambient lighting that works in harmony with a therapeutic back massage, snappy infotainment screen that, by the way, works to control almost every function available in this technoid beauty, there’s not much that the Maybach can be called out for. Other than perfection. We’ll remind you that this is assuredly the current peak of the brilliance of smart cars and the traditional standard set by Mercedes.
Upcoming Breakthroughs
A popular niche for cars in 2024 is cosmetic upgrades. Companies love putting their vehicles through the grinder annually to beef up their hardware but all that has recently taken a welcome shift in direction. At CES 2024, held in Las Vegas, BMW unveiled Vision DEE. Funny name, right? The DEE stands for “Digital Emotional Experience”. The crux of highlighting this mid-size sedan was to show how it basically could paint itself with a fresh coat of color. All by itself.
Using a feature called “E Ink”; the concept car could choose from over 32 different colors and hues to envelop its exterior in. Additionally, it could also employ shy-tech, another BMW exclusive; to understand what sort of content the user would like to see on its heads-up display. This way, BMW will be the first to usher in an era of virtual reality pertaining to the automotive industry.
Sony and Honda didn’t did not lag during CES either. It seems that Sony’s big game of entering the auto industry is to pair up with an already present juggernaut aka Honda and form a wondrous mesh of tech with engineering brilliance. The result? Project Afeela. The EV incorporated elements from both giants to make use of its body as a large infotainment screen with console-level power. We’re not joking; the guys flexed God of War, a PlayStation exclusive, running on the hood of the car.
Conclusion
There’s is still lots to unveil and lots to gobble up by tech and car enthusiasts alike. With industry-leading giants like Sony dabbling their tech-y marvels in the auto industry and then luxury brands like Mercedes pushing to make elite exclusivity their stronghold, it’ll be interesting to see where this battle will take the future of auto. 2024 is only the start of this war and you can bet your bottom dollar we haven’t seen the last of what this year’s auto revolution has in store for us.
The day might not be far when we can finally say, “Autobots, roll out!” Sorry, not sorry.
