The future of the CONNECTED CAR

Quincy Malesovas
www.news.com.au

The discovery of radio waves, the telephone and – of course – the internet have fueled the modern world’s ease of connection, knowledge and accessibility. Now cars are undergoing a similar evolution.

While cars have only been around a relatively short amount of time, they’ve seen a great transformation in their lifetime – particularly within the last decade. We may not be at the point where self-driving cars are roaming the streets, but that future is not far off.

“The market has become very vibrant and is growing day by day,” says Dr Saeed Asadi Bagloee, a research fellow at Melbourne University’s Department of Transport Engineering.

Even now, there are vehicles out there that are equipped with technologies that sound like they’re straight out of a science fiction novel. The 2021 Haval Jolion is one of them. Featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that lets you stream all your favourite music straight from your phone, a 360-degree camera allowing full visibility when turning or parking, and advanced safety design centred around autonomous vehicle technology (AVT), the Jolion truly is the car of the future.

Cruise control was the beginning of a long journey. It helped us have comfort in driving and an advanced safety level.

Dr Saeed Asadi Bagloee, Melbourne University

According to Dr Bagloee, autonomous technology, in particular, has great benefits for drivers and passengers. For one, it has the capacity to significantly enhance road safety.

“With fully autonomous vehicles, the rate of traffic accidents is going to drop by 90 per cent because 90 per cent of accidents are due to human error,” he says.

While this statistic is strictly in reference to self-driving cars, even semi-autonomous functionalities play a large role in driver safety. Features like Autonomous Emergency Braking, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keep Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go and Blind-Spot Detection are all reliant on autonomous technology and also have the capacity to lower drivers’ risk of collision.

Benefits of CONNECTED CARS

“Cruise control was the beginning of a long journey,” says Dr Bagloee. “It helped us have comfort in driving and an advanced safety level.”

By preventing distractions and obstructions for drivers, AVT technologies like advanced cruise control, blind-spot detection and 360-degree cameras may also decrease travel time.

“We call it mobility,” says Dr Bagloee. “By that, I mean that this new technology gets you faster to your destination. It’s as simple as that.”

While we might not be far off from a world where fully automated, driverless vehicles are zipping around the streets, semi-automated options are a helpful way for people to adapt to this technology. The rise in connected car technology has also played a role in people’s willingness and eagerness to adopt future innovations.

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