If you thought that the smart phone revolution had already arrived then get ready for what is coming to us in 2015-2016. Up until now the tech world has seen a gap in what a laptop or desktop pc can accomplish and what we generally use our smart phones and tablets for. That bridge is about to be crossed as all of our data and processing capability will find their way to our pockets and now be able to dock at home on our large screen tv or even in our cars as a full personal computer. There is more and more recent regarding developing platforms like the Ubuntu Edge and rumored projects for the Android OS, that should work from -but actually succeed in- some of the concepts set forth with the ill-received Motorolla Atrix. With over 4GB of RAM and dual or even quad-core processors, the phones of the future aren’t here to be paired with our laptops; they’re here to replace them.
So what does this all have to do with the cars we drive? Well if you think streaming Pandora and Stitcher from your iPhone 5 to your Buick impresses your folks… take a look at a few items we feel will revolutionize how we interact with our cars once they are connected to next level:
Siri becomes “Her”
In the new film “Her“, directed by Spike Jonze, Joaquin Phoenix interacts with an advanced AI woman voiced by Scarlett Johansson and I believe it gives a small glimpse (albeit to an extreme) of what AI assistants like Siri or Google Now will develop into in the next generation of smart phones. Once docked in your vehicle Siri could remind you of important events or local errands on your way home from the office. “You have a meeting across town in 45 minutes and there is an accident on the freeway, you better take a right ahead on Colorado. A task assigned by your wife has been added this evening at 5:00pm to pickup your son from practice. Would you like to confirm?”
Certain cars like the new Chevrolet Spark have push button integration with Siri and other OEMs have committed to making Google Now or Siri buttons standard on future vehicles so growing integration with “personal assistants” will help to keep us organized and updated while behind the wheel.
Augmented Reality Integration
This may be best represented in a video demo from a small company (who frustratingly decided to disable embedding on YT) called the Mishor ShadowBox and shows how future improvements in HUD in the car windsheild to project directions, landmarks, and even highlight locations or people from social media outlets will guide us through the world and keep our eyes focused on the road.. well, on the road and the rainbow of colored notifications.
Social Media
Many auto manufacturers are already incorporating text messages, emails, and certain social media outlets but cars systems of the future will work to make contact more fluid and natural. Entering a conference call with heads up video projection and seeing updates and locations of family and friends could help keep us connected with the people around us as the world gets bigger. Imagine seeing a friend’s icon show up on your windshield showing they are shopping only a mile away and you could instantly send them a video message to grab lunch nearby without ever fumbling for a phone.
Performance Driving
For performance oriented driving the future could allow for advanced feedback and control over your car. Modern performance vehicles feature track maps to keep lap times but we could begin to see hot laps from famous drivers projected through a heads up system to allow the driver to learn the best driving line on the track and keep track of progress against other drivers with updated lap times as the track day progresses. Several newer vehicles, like the Infiniti Q50, feature steer-by-wire systems which take away most of the mechanical linkage to the front wheels and allow the driver to adjust feedback and change from a light and agile steering feel for a busy parking lot and firm up the steering for aggressive driving on a course or through a mountain road. While the initial system has received some heavy criticisms on how it feels, future systems will get much closer to replicating the mechanical feel and also allow the vehicle to take control in emergency situations or even enable driverless operation with further improvements.
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