The Most Innovative Technologies that Will Shape the Future of Driving

 Automotive  

The technology in your car is changing rapidly, and is shaping the future of driving.  From autonomous cars, to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, cars are going to be very different in the next few years.

Automotive technology has advanced immensely in the past couple of years, making cars much safer, more intelligent, more connected, and more fun. Nowadays, there are cars that can park themselves, alert the driver when there is a risk of lane departure, detect when a driver is distracted or drowsy, and monitor a driver's blind spot, which certainly helps improve traffic safety and protect both vehicle occupants and pedestrians. What's more, cars can now talk to each other, sharing information on road and weather conditions, and there are even cars with built-in Wi-Fi hotspots.

The development of autonomous driving technology is arguably one of the most revolutionary things that have happened in the auto industry in the last couple of decades. Many car makers, including Volvo, Audi, Nissan, Toyota, and GM, have been working on vehicles that can drive themselves, without the input of a human driver. But, the biggest advances in the autonomous car game have been made by Google, a company that has no previous experience in building cars, whatsoever. The tech giant has received permission to operate its self-driving cars in four U.S. states: Nevada, Florida, California, and Michigan.

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Thanks to a series of sensors, cameras, radars, and an on-board computer, these cars can steer, accelerate, and brake on their own, making drivers obsolete, and eliminating human error, as the single biggest cause of car accidents. When they hit the streets in about 15 years, self-driving cars will completely change transportation as we know it, allowing vehicle occupants to use the time they spent on the road more productively, and making sure they get to their destination safely.

"In about 15 years, self-driving cars will completely change transportation as we know it, allowing vehicle occupants to use the time they spent on the road more productively, and making sure they get to their destination safely."

Another major innovation that is bound to reshape the future of driving is vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. This technology is supposed to help drivers get accurate information on weather conditions and road hazards in real time, so that they can choose alternative routes and avoid traffic jams. Additionally, cars can inform other cars when they are about to make a turn, and let other cars know how fast they are moving, in order to allow drivers to adjust their speed accordingly and help them maintain a safe following distance at all times. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology will definitely be of great help to drivers, as it will help improve traffic flow, and increase highway safety. The NHTSA has announced that it will require all new vehicles to be equipped with this technology in the near future.

While most technological advancements bring mainly positive changes, there is one aspect of the increased use of technology in cars that is a bit controversial, and might not be well received by future vehicle owners. There is a growing fear among consumers that automakers will use on-board computers and infotainment systems in their cars to collect and store location data of car owners, sharing them with third-party companies, or even the government. This raises some serious privacy concerns, and the question remains whether car makers will do everything they can to protect their consumers' privacy rights, and protect their personal information and location data.

Basically, technology has helped transform the driving experience, mostly to the better, and it will continue to do so. It remains to be seen how driving will look like in the future, but one thing is for sure – it will be pretty different from what it looks like now.

By Jordan Perch

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Author Bio - Jordan Perch is an automotive fanatic and “safe driving” specialist. He is a writer for DMV.com, which is a collaborative community designed to help ease the stress and annoyance of “dealing with the DMV”