Tag Archives: autonomous car

Making Your Car Safer For The Road With Technology

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Driving can be a dangerous game. There are so many thousands of drivers on the roads just in your area every day, and each of them will have their own view on what safe driving is.

To ensure that you are always safe on the road, companies like American Traffic Solutions will install cameras, traffic lights, warning signs and diversions to ensure we stay safe. However, the safety of ourselves and the people around us is not only down to the authorities. We have a responsibility to make sure that we drive safely and that our car is safe to drive.

There are some great pieces of tech we can install into our cars which make driving much safer, and therefore being on the roads a less hazardous affair.

Rear-view camera

One of the things which can make a massive difference to the way we drive our vehicles is the ability to see where we are reversing. Rather than you having to guess where the cars are in each side of when reversing into a bay, the camera will show you and make it easier for you to drive. It also means that if anything appears at the back of the car such as a cat, you can avoid hitting it.

Phone technology

One of the most common causes of road accidents is texting or talking on the phone while driving. Having your phone either lifted up to your ear or under your steering wheel is a huge danger to you and everyone around you. The great thing is that you can get a car which has the ability to stop you from using your phone on the road. Most newer models will now have Bluetooth in the onboard system which will allow you to connect your phone and talk hands free. Another great feature which Ford has introduced is the ability for your car to read message out to you. This saves you being tempted to take your eyes off the road when you receive a message. You are then able to auto reply with ‘Call me back later’ and carry on your drive.

Lane Keeping

Don’t you just hate it when people swerve in and out of lanes for no reason? This can happen especially when a driver isn’t paying attention to the road. Luckily, many cars can now detect a subtle change in lane positioning and will correct this automatically. It means that if a driver is too busy texting to pay attention to the road. The car will move itself back into the lane and stay there.

Collision Prevention

You may remember your driving lessons when one day your instructor told you to break in the middle of the road. Learning how to emergency stop is a skill you are taught in case of an accident, however sometimes you simply cannot predict what will happen. The great thing is, some cars will do it for you. The Honda Accord for example will sense an accident happening and slam the brakes on before you even notice what it happening, it can save your life, and it will certainly make your car much safer on the road.

Nio Unveils the Electric Autonomous Eve

In our fast paced ADD laden society, the simple joy of driving is falling by the wayside to texting, browsing Reddit, and YouTube and Netflix binges.  Of course, you could also be reading, learning a new language, or catching up on your work emails, but life is too short for arduous productivity.  The technology of the near future will give us more free time, make us more productive, and hopefully help us live healthier lives.

At the 2017 SXSW in Austin, Texas, a new player in the electric automotive game, Nio, unveiled the Eve, a fully autonomous, electric vehicle.  In fact, the Eve doesnt even seem to feature a steering wheel.  Not sure if they will add that feature later, in 2020, when the startup plans to roll out the model.  The Eve is basically a comfortable living space for you to spend your newfound free time while the car takes you to your destination.

Imagine having your own taxi on call without the Marlboro smelling operator at the wheel. Eve will feature Nomi, an interactive AI system that will allow you to interface with the car.  Hopefully, in 2020 it will be more precise than Siri is when you are trying to order pizza.  The Eve will also feature active glass, so you can learn constellations while you ride, an innocent example included in the promotional video.
The Eve also features sliding passenger doors and hopefully a 600 mile range.  Nio thinks by 2020, this will be possible with a charging rate of 200 miles per 10 minutes.  While Nio debuted the NIO EP9 late last year, the “fastest electric vehicle” with a 0-60 mph of 2.7 seconds, they have yet to manufacture the car. Their autonomous concept is still very much in the ether until we get closer to 2020.