Float Like a Cadillac, Sting Like a Beemer

 

The car woke from its nap and drove over to where they were waiting. 

As they approached, a female’s voice rang out from the car to say, “Please go ahead,” letting them know that it was safe to pass in front of the car. Using sensors, the car had detected that there were others nearby and automatically started slowly opening the car’s four bay doors. Sounds futuristic? Of course, it does. But what you just read was what had been experienced by the very fortunate Verne Kopytoff of Fortune.com, as he took a ride in Mercedes-Benz F 105 autonomous car, earlier this year. A world with vehicles as intelligent as those in the Disney movie, Cars, would truly be a wonderful place to live in, but there is quite some distance to go. As kids on a family trip would say, “Are we there yet?”

Your car is your new gadget

The colossal power of the Internet is now within your car’s grasp. Android Auto. Android Auto is a telematics standard that allows you to connect your car to an Android operating system (OS) on your phone or tablet. Hyundai had demonstrated this on a Sonata car at CES 2015, earlier this year, but the bigger news is that, Google has recently released an application program interface (API) that has triggered the race among app makers to begin creating apps for your car. Apart from minor things like using WhatsApp through your car, Android Auto should allow you to control your phone and car functionality through the now familiar, ‘Ok, Google…’ command. Google touts invehicle messaging as one of the features, but is that really a smart move for the driver? Apple CarPlay. On the other hand, Apple has its CarPlay that was also featured in Hyundai’s Sonata. However, since the API has not been made public as yet by Apple, there is not much to do for it right now. This also means that there will be limited apps upon launch.

Controlling more than just the infotainment system

Of course, Auto and CarPlay are just how regular consumer electronics firms look at this emerging space. Security. Car manufacturers like Chevrolet and GMC have their own elaborate systems, which include features like over-theair (OTA) updates for your car, just like your Dilin Anand is a senior assistant editor at EFY Float Like a Cadillac, Sting Like a Beemer  Tech Focus smartphone has now. This means, new engine-management functions and security features would be just a download away. These software updates in cars even add features like automatic emergency braking and blind-spot warning. Engine management. What is more interesting is that, in some cars like Tesla, these software updates can increase acceleration, economy or top speed of your car after it gets installed. Expect a day in the future when you can buy car-performance upgrades through app-like downloads, instead of going to the workshop to get the engine modified. Convenience. Our own desi company, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles (MREV), has an amazingly connected electric car in the guise of e2o. Users are able to control various elements in their car through a smartphone from anywhere in the world—from turning on the AC to pre-cool the car before you take your family out on a hot summer afternoon, to remotely locking the car and even charging it. An interesting feature is REVive, which enables the driver to use the smartphone to activate an additional reserve of eight kilometres of range if the car runs out of power. Safety. Chevrolet is believed to be planning to use its onboard 4G LTE Wi-Fi and OnStar RemoteLink smartphone app to alert owners if their car is about to break down. Another example is when National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made two recall announcements. While this would normally require owners to bring in their cars to get it fixed, Tesla was able to solve the problem via a simple software update.