Cars are a modern marvel. If we were to travel back even a hundred years, to the age of their birth, we would find a society dazzled by their intricacy and innovation. They would have seemed semi-mystical, representing a new and thrilling age looming just beyond the horizon.
Today, the marvel is that we’ve forgotten to admire them. Along with other 21st century comforts like hot water and central heating, we view them as part of the fabric of modern life, no more than a mere prop in the background of a painting.
It’s time to get excited about them again. With a myriad of innovations just waiting to be unleashed, here are five of the most thrilling new technologies that are set to be unveiled.
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1. Driver override systems
It might sound like the beginning of a sci-fi movie featuring dangerously intelligent robots, but driver override systems are just around the corner. These clever vehicles will wrest control from drivers in emergency situations, overriding their demands if danger is imminent. Their primary purpose will be to reduce the incidence of accidents on the roads, and their design means that their sensitive sensor technology will be given precedence over your own assessment of potential risks.
2. Health monitoring
Not only will these futuristic vehicles be able to take control when their systems inform them that you’re making a bad decision, but they’ll also be able to keep an eye on your overall health and wellbeing, making sure that you’re up to the job of being on the roads.
Although Mercedes-Benz cars have featured fatigue detection systems in their vehicles for a number of years already, these new motors will take things a step further by tracking all of your vital statistics. This means that should you find yourself suffering a fit whilst you’re driving, or losing consciousness behind the wheel, they can guide you to the kerbside and call the paramedics to help you.
3. Remote vehicle shutdown
As exciting as these innovations are, it seems unlikely that everyone will view them favourably. The criminal fraternity will probably be more than a little unhappy with this burgeoning wave of developments, particularly remote vehicle shutdown.
This clever technology will give police officers the power to shut down stolen cars through a clever telematics system, making dramatic police chases redundant, whilst significantly reducing the juvenile fun of joyriding, and the success of vehicle theft.
4. Personalised marketing based on your driving
Unfortunately, some of these innovations could arguably be said to be interfering as much as innovative. We already know that marketing outfits track our every move, inundating us with tailored deals based on our Facebook pages, internet searches, and eBay purchases, but now they'll be able to take it one step further, by throwing our driving data into the mix.
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A powerful set of in-car metrics will be able to record and filter important information about you and your vehicle, providing innovative and ambitious insurers with the statistics they need to send a perfectly personalised deal winging its way into your inbox.
5. Driverless cars
You might also want to keep an eye out for driverless vehicles winding their way down suburban streets in the not-too-distant future. The brainchild of Google, these clever cars are intended to eradicate human error on the roads, helping to reduce the number of collisions, accidents, and injuries, and improve safety.
Their exquisitely developed systems will be able to navigate everything from passing other vehicles through to dealing with dangerous weather conditions, handling every event with more talent and skill than any flesh-and-blood driver could ever hope to.
