Future car technologies – turning dreams into reality

In today’s advanced tech world, latest improvements are only as good as better things come along. In the auto industry, manufacturers are constantly competing with each other in the hopes of developing something so pioneering that nobody can reproduce. Cars are now safer, faster and more useful than ever before. New technologies are implemented to increase safety, but also functionality. What should we expect from future vehicles? Self-driving cars, flying cars, smart cars, will sooner or later emerge. That could happen 10, 20, 50 years from now, but it will eventually. Let’s turn dreams into reality and assess some of the most incredible future car technologies.

vehicle technology

V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) cars
Car manufacturers are currently analysing and researching two incredible technologies meant to facilitate communication between cars. Let’s imagine the following scenario: you’re at the wheel approaching an intersection; an additional car runs a red light but you can’t see them. A 3rd car intervenes and warns you that a potential collision may happen. To avoid an accident, you just have to hit the brakes to avoid the accident.
The technology is called V2V (vehicle to vehicle) and it aims at facilitating communication between cars. Currently, the innovative technology is being tested by manufacturers like Ford for example, and it certainly has a lot of potential. V2V uses wireless signals to send out information (usually related to direction, location, and speed) between vehicles.
Self-driving cars
Self-driving cars are not new, and even though Google has made some incredible discoveries in the field, the true meaning of a driverless car is still under construction, so to speak. Can a car drive itself? Well, not at the moment but we’re closer than ever to achieving that. Google’s vehicles can do more than just record images; they have computerized maps that view road signs. Also, they can see traffic lights and find alternate routes using cameras, lasers, and radars.
If self-driving cars go mainstream, we will gain time. We won’t be sitting in traffic any longer, not to mention that highway accidents will decrease tremendously. Although we’re far from developing driverless vehicles, General Motors has already tested the technology. Apparently, the concept is not that far-fetched after all.

exterior car

Exterior car airbags
Car airbags are in constant evolution, and ever since they were added, they kept making their way around a car’s interior. Currency, we have side airbags, curtain airbags, knee airbags, and seatbelt belts airbags. And because we can’t stop technology from advancing, Mercedes is working on an ingenious way of using airbags. The manufacturer wants to find a way to deploy airbags from underneath a car; this is meant to help that vehicle stop prior to causing an accident.
The airbags will be included in an overall active safety system, and on activation the sensors will be able to determine an inevitable future impact. Also, they will feature a friction coating meant to help slow down the car; after that, the car will be lifted (approx. 8 cm) and this will counter the dipping motion nod during the hard braking. This car technology has great potential because it already uses existing vehicle safety systems. Even though Mercedes has been struggling for years to make it work, it’s still under development.
Flying car technology
We won’t be seeing cars flying around anytime soon, but we have to admit that the technology will eventually hit the market. Whether it will happen 20 or 30 years from now, that we can’t know. Technology – computer-aided design, sense & avoid avionics, and material science – can’t be stopped from advancing; we can’t go back to the basics, that’s for sure. However, are we crazy to believe that someday our vehicles will fly? Flying car technology is turning our dreams into reality. We want to be able to use it, yet we might have to wait a few decades for that to happen.
We have to admit that the future of the automobile industry looks incredibly promising. Old-fashioned car parts will be replaced by high-tech systems, and soon enough we won’t need to get behind a wheel to reach a destination. Everything we once knew about cars is changing; let’s just hope that these changes are for the best.