By John Brandon
We'll spare you the far-future posturing and flying-car jokes, but the truth
is -- for the 200 million automobile owners in America, the future looks
bright. In fact, we've already made some pretty impressive headway. The 2008
Mercedes S-Class can change lanes on the highway automatically, and both the
Toyota Prius and the Lexus LS-460 can self-park at the push of a button.
But that's just a drop in the bucket compared to what's in the works. With
eyes wide and mouths agape, we peeked under the curtain at the cars of the
future. Here's what we can tell you about what you'll be driving in 2020.
1. Your car will predict the future
Self-parking cars are great and all, but there's a big difference between
features of convenience and the kinds of safety technologies on the horizon.
We're talking about cars that can see into the future and react on a dime --
whether that means detecting a person crossing the street or swerving to avoid
oncoming traffic.
There's no doubt the artificial intelligence required to protect you from
those dangers is incredibly sophisticated, but it's becoming more widely
available every day. Vehicles equipped with hundreds of sensors will be able to
monitor their surroundings, both from a short-range perspective (to detect
things like barriers and stop signs) and a long-range perspective (to detect
things like a truck barreling toward you). But they won't be working alone.
Cars of the future will also utilize video monitors located at
intersections. Currently planned for many towns and cities across the United
States, these monitors will feed data to your car over a wireless network. From
as far as 30 miles away, they'll be able to transmit video imagery right to
your dashboard. So, if you didn't see that pedestrian walking into the street, the
video system would know where you were, know about the pedestrian, and warn you
to pay attention.
It's similar to Google's new Street View maps system. Already available in
larger cities like San Francisco and New York, the application shows fluid, 360-degree
video images of nearly every block in the area. And while it's only accessible
from computers now, similar real-time images will soon be available right on
your dash.
Taking the concept one step further, engineers also plan to equip cars with
computer processors that can analyze these kinds of video feeds to assess
abnormalities in traffic. So rather than just warning you of an upcoming
obstacle in the road, cars will use the data to deploy airbags at just the
right location within the vehicle. Or, they could decide to take over the
steering when needed.
Basically a smarter version of the existing Electronic Stability Control
feature (available on several luxury car models now), the cars will monitor
weather and traffic, and adjust tire speeds to make sure you stay on the road
and don't flip the vehicle. How long 'til everyone on the block has one? The
system will be required on all new U.S. cars for the 2012 model year, but you
should expect to see it even sooner than that.
2. Your car will talk to the road and the road will talk back
It's one thing to have a car that senses other vehicles, but something else
entirely to have the road itself know where your car is at all times. To make
that possible, city governments and automakers are joining forces to launch new
Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) systems. Using short-range wireless
signals, vehicles will be able to communicate not only with each other, but
with all the infrastructure on the road.
Transportation agencies in cities across America currently have plans to
install DSRC technology at major intersections and high-accident areas. In
response, major auto manufacturers will offer DSRC support for their cars.
The communication network will monitor where cars are traveling, as well as
read traffic-light information and road-sign sensors. With both cars and
roadways enabled, formerly unimaginable safety benefits will become a reality.
For instance, ambulances will be able to trigger upcoming traffic lights to
change from red to green.
But there are plans to go even further. According to DaimlerChrysler, old
satellites (accurate to about 3 feet) could be replaced with much more powerful
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites, which could pinpoint your vehicle
to a few centimeters. And while there are only 30 active GPS satellites in
space today, engineers hope to have as many as 50 in the future.
The new system will be able to track weather conditions and suggest
alternate routes. For example, you could avoid a tornado in Kansas or damaging
hail in Fargo, or loop around Chicago traffic using real-time data that's
continually updated.
3. Your car will take itself into the shop for maintenance
Having wireless networks set up along the roadways -- such as those
necessary for seeing images of upcoming intersections -- translates to endless
possibilities for cars and drivers in the future. Example: Imagine passing a
maintenance station that remotely signals your in-car navigation system that
it's time for an oil change. Better yet, it could go ahead and wirelessly
upgrade your car's software modules or check the performance of its safety
sensors.
Perhaps even more exciting are the possibilities for electric hybrids. Once
electric cars outnumber gas-engine cars, satellite-based wireless power systems
could recharge vehicles from space. How's that possible? The satellites would
gather solar energy from space and then transmit the power to a receiver on the
vehicle via a wireless signal. It would work the same as a wireless computer
network, except the signal would carry energy instead of data.
4. When you drive through McDonald's, your car will be debited, not your
VISA
Microprocessors are already embedded into many parts of an automobile --
from an engine's control-valve timing system to the seat controls. So why not
have a microprocessor that manages financial transactions? Several states
already offer special debit cards that mount to your windshield as you pass
through a toll, but those are primitive compared to what's to come.
In the future, when you pull into the drive-thru at a fast food restaurant,
a local Wi-Fi network will be able to communicate with your vehicle by way of
an encrypted wireless signal. In other words, after you order your food, the
car will automatically make the financial transaction. And the electronic
signature? It's likely that the navigational systems in your car will have
expanded beyond route planning and safety warnings into something involving a
signature pad that would allow you to type in a passcode (or use a fingerprint
or eye retina scan) as an electronic signature.
Once the infrastructure is in place, your car will become like a mini-ATM
for drive-thru establishments. Of course, whether or not that's a good thing
for your budget remains to be seen.
5. Go ahead, take a nap. Your car will drive itself
Futuristic cars tricked out with their own ATMs and self-maintenance
features sound nice, but for many engineers, that's just the tip of the
iceberg. The real holy grail? A fully automated, driverless car.
Shining a big spotlight on such efforts is DARPA (the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency), a Department of Defense organization aimed at
perfecting the robotic technology needed for safe, autonomous military
vehicles.
In 2005, Stanford robotics expert Sebastian Thrun won the DARPA Grand
Challenge with his autonomous car, Stanley. Although the competition is aimed
at developing machinery to protect soldiers, Thrun believes the technology will
reach civilians sooner than you might think. And driverless cars, he believes,
could save thousands of lives each year.
In June 2007, Thrun's new robotic roadster, Junior, completed several test
runs in preparation for the DARPA Urban Challenge (scheduled for November
2007). Although Junior never went faster than 15 mph, it made a three-point
U-turn and navigated through a four-way stop. That's right; Thrun is getting
close to achieving a fully automated, road-ready car.
Where could this lead? Well, a highway system for starters -- say, from San
Francisco to Los Angeles -- for driverless vehicles only. Using a wireless
signal, barriers on either side of the road could communicate with cars to keep
them on track. And vehicles could simply use older cruise-control technology to
maintain steady speeds.
Conceivably, this would allow drivers to sleep through long stretches of
highway -- or at the very least read the morning paper and drink their coffee.
Another advantage is that these routes could have less restrictive speed limits
-- likely well over 100 mph -- which could redefine the morning commute for
many.
(Courtesy of
http://bit.ly/14PIxh5)
