Today, the automotive industry is evolving at an incredible pace. Manufacturers are striving to make their cars not only faster and more reliable, but also safer, more controllable, more functional, and smarter.
Nowadays, all the necessary conditions for creating smart cars are in place: the IT sphere is developing rapidly, more and more intelligent and functional systems are appearing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming widespread. All these factors combine to provide tremendous opportunities for the development of automobile transport.
In the popular mind, a smart car is something between a car and a robot with artificial intelligence. In reality, it is a vehicle that exceeds standard cars in terms of a number of parameters. It is possible to call a car a smart car for various reasons:
- availability of self-driving;
- advanced navigation system;
- environmental friendliness;
- Use of alternative fuel.
This is also the name given to unique cars and concepts designed for a specific purpose and with exclusive functions/special features.
Artificial Intelligence Features in Cars
AI in the car transforms a trip into something more than just getting from origin to destination. Modern equipment makes driving safer, acts as additional senses to help the driver control the vehicle, reduces the likelihood of accidents and allows the motorist to concentrate less on the road without negative consequences.
Artificial intelligence in cars is capable of fully assuming the task of driving the vehicle: this has been repeatedly proven by Google, Tesla and other developers of unmanned cars.
In addition to direct participation in traffic control, smart cars are able to build the best route for the trip and inform the driver in real time of any possible trouble and traffic jams.
Three Types of Smart Cars
The concept of “smart car” is quite complicated, as each manufacturer puts something unique into the definition. However, in general it is possible to allocate three types of such vehicles.
- The first type – additional electronics in the cabin
A smart car does not necessarily have to be made by the artificial intelligence of an unmanned car. In the opinion of many manufacturers, it is enough to equip the cabin with additional electronics, which will make the operation of the vehicle more comfortable and safe.
Car companies came up with many ideas for their products, equipped cars with all kinds of sensors and control systems, but now it is unlikely to surprise anyone. Therefore, some manufacturers have gone further, for example, the creators of smart car GEA, to which designers from Italdesign Giugiaro and employees of LG had a hand.
The car is designed for businessmen who need to spend maximum time productively while in the cabin. Therefore, there are three interior modes:
- Business. Office-like: monitors, lighting, unfolding chairs for meetings.
- Wellness. Transformation of salon into a gym.
- Dream. Sleep mode.
This car is supposed to be unmanned, so that the driver could get to his destination during the activities described above.
- The second type – electronic assistant
The second option for the intellectualization of the vehicle is to equip it with an electronic assistant. Smart features (which used to be so called) appeared all the time, some of them have firmly entered our lives and became a daily occurrence, others have not caught on and disappeared. However, today, additional features reach a new level. An example is the development of S-Max from Ford.
Its main purpose is to scan road signs and automatically adjust the speed of the vehicle, including by reducing the fuel supply to the engine, but without using the brake.
Tesla has something similar – an automatic collision warning system designed to stop the car in a critical situation.
- The third type – unmanned cars
Perhaps the most interesting type of smart car system is the automatic control without human involvement. It is believed that the future is in such vehicles, but their development requires fabulous investments, so only the largest corporations are involved, for example Google, Apple or Sony.
The giants were planning to launch their first cars on the market in the middle of the last decade, but reality has made its adjustments. Launching unmanned cars on the market is a huge liability for human lives, and so far, it has not been possible to solve all the problems that automobiles encounter while driving.
There are concepts from other firms, including Nissan, Audi, and Mercedes.
What Can Modern Smart Cars Do?
High-tech cars are being developed to free the motorist from the need to solve numerous tasks while driving, to make the trip more comfortable and to reduce any possible risks.
Many experts believe that the transfer of at least part of the driving duties to artificial intelligence will make the roads safer, avoid numerous accidents and reduce the number of human casualties.
Driver Condition Monitoring
The use of advanced driver monitoring systems helps to reduce the risk of a person falling asleep at the wheel, reducing the chance of an accident due to overexertion or health problems. A smart car can be equipped with a set of special equipment that will monitor the condition and behavior of the motorist. For example, the system is capable of:
- Block the ability to drive the car if the person is intoxicated;
- monitor the level of fatigue of the driver and notify him if he begins to fall asleep, drive beyond the markings or other actions to confirm the loss of concentration on the road;
- notify the dispatcher or emergency services if the motorist poses a danger to himself or other road users.
Emergency Alert
To make a car safer, many manufacturers today use a special emergency alert. Its main task is to transmit information in case of emergency situations recorded by the vehicle’s sensors. The signal can be sent in the following cases:
- danger of collision;
- physical contact with the roadside, road markings, guardrails or other road users;
- malfunctions that could lead to an accident.
In some cases, the system may automatically notify emergency services or connect people in the car to such services.
Automatic Lighting
Automatic light control systems switch on the headlights and adjust the light intensity according to the time of day and weather conditions. The importance of this function cannot be underestimated, as the regulation of the lighting is crucial for the external cameras directly involved in driving the vehicle. And with a human being behind the wheel, the automatic light control allows the driver to keep his attention on the road.
Automatic Car Control
Cars that are able to drive themselves, without human intervention, are of the most interest. To get to its destination, an unmanned vehicle must know the route, understand its surroundings, comply with traffic regulations and interact correctly with pedestrians and other road users.
Prospects for The Development of Smart Cars
Smart car systems today are developing rapidly, and every year car manufacturers will try harder and harder to surprise us with new products, the functions of which may simply not be in the mind of the average user. We can expect on-board systems to become more functional, to provide greater comfort and greater safety in the operation of vehicles.
As for the introduction of unmanned cars, the creators still have a lot of work to do. Unmanned cars require a new road infrastructure in which they could “communicate” with the infrastructure itself (signs, traffic lights) and with other vehicles. At the same time, drones are not suitable for simple maps – they need to understand their location with centimeter accuracy and have accurate information about the surrounding area (the geometry of road markings, road borders, nearby road signs and so on). To keep the mapping up to date, special mapping machines must drive along the streets and update information about the state of the roads.
We hope this article was helpful to you!