Holographic Info Displays
With all this information flowing through our cars, data displays will become even more important. We know that Audi and a couple other manufacturers are working on holographic-style head-up displays. (Obi-Wan would be proud.) These color images will be projected in front of the driver and be most useful for things like 3-D maps and driving directions. We can get behind anything that has the ability to keep more eyes on the road. More use of digital gauges, in-dash displays, and larger touchscreens is also a given.
Proliferation of Advanced Cruise Control
Laser- or radar-guided stop-and-go cruise control is already commonplace among luxury automakers, and we expect these systems to be offered on all but the least expensive vehicles in the future. Although this kind of tech is billed as a safety feature, a car that can prevent tailgating or stop itself without human intervention is likely to encourage and reinforce bad driving habits.
Night Vision Goes Mainstream
Another use of cameras is night vision, also the province of the luxobarges. BMW’s current system uses infrared and displays a heat-based, gray-scale image, and Mercedes’ amplifies available light. Toyota is now working on a color night-vision setup, using research into how nocturnal dung beetles see in low-light situations. Honestly, we couldn’t make this stuff up.
Active Head Restraint:
In simple words, active restraint moves forward and upward in a rear-end collision to save the passenger from having head and neck related injuries and whiplash injuries. Although it has its usefulness but since manufacturers in our market give less importance to passenger safety, we may not see it in regular budget cars just yet.
Head up Display (HUD):
HUD offers style and functionality in one place. These displays are becoming increasingly available in production cars, and usually offer speedometer, tachometer, navigation etc. Now who wouldn’t want to have this tech on his daily drive.
Gesture Control
Don’t be alarmed if you see a driver waving his hand wildly like they’re pretending to conduct an orchestra in the car of the future, they might just be changing the air conditioning settings or adjusting the volume of the radio.
It will because of the advent of gesture command technology, similar to that used on gaming consoles that mimick movements in a virtual environment.
The idea is that, as cars become equipped with more and more functions and features, car makers will eliminate the need for masses of buttons and knobs and all adjustments will be made by gesture commands, such as swiping left or right to control the volume or rotating your fingers to increase or lower the cabin temperature … or even thumbs up to like a Facebook post.
It will work by having a stereo camera mounted within the cabin (in the rear-view mirror for example) that can recognise certain movements for pre-programmed adjustments and functions.
Tilt steering city cars
Small single-person commuter cars look like becoming a viable solution for traversing congested cities.
Not only will they be easy to park – taking up a quarter of the space of a conventional car – and easy on the environment with electric engines, but they will offer a completely unique driving experience that blends the comfort and security of a car with the handling of a scooter.
Some, like Toyota’s i-Road, use gyroscope technology and tilt steering technology that makes the vehicle lean into corners to easily traverse around tight situations.
Electric turbos
Turbochargers have long been the domain of performance powerplants, but have in the last decade or so become commonplace in small, fuel-sipping engines to boost their low-speed driveability.
The main problem with a turbocharger is that it is essentially a reactionary pump, and only operates at its maximum efficiency when wasted gases are delivered through the exhaust system. The result is what’s called turbo lag, where the driver experiences a sudden surge in power when the turbo reaches full boost pressure.
Modern computer electronics have significantly improved the responsiveness of turbo chargers, but the next step in its development is for the fan – or impeller – to be driven by an electric motor to ensure it is always on and delivering the optimum boost, which, as a result, will reduce fuel consumption and create a more linear power delivery.
Fuel cells
The silver bullet to eliminating harmful exhaust emissions from cars is hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Car makers have been investing heavily in the development of such technologies for decades, and some have even created small fleets of vehicles available to lease in places such as California and Japan.