Smarter Cars.....

When we looked at the Mercedes-Benz E-Class , one of the highpoints was the vehicle's “Intelligent Drive System.” This supported driving system is designed to avoid or mitigate accidents through a suite of sensors and computer-assisted steering and braking. The company has now released four videos that explain how each feature work.

BAS PLUS

The Brake Assist system BAS PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist uses stereo cameras and long and medium range radar to monitor cross traffic and walkers. If the car’s computer detects a risk of smash, it boosts the braking muscle applied by the driver until it’s sufficient to prevent an accident or reduce the amount of damage.

DISTRONIC PLUS

      

Active Lane Keeping Assistance

Kicking in a speeds over 60 km/h (37 mph), Active Lane Keeping Assist uses long and short range radar to monitor traffic on all sides of the car. If the car starts to drift out of its lane or the driver tries to change lanes into one that is engaged, the system sounds a cautioning and makes the steering wheel vibrate. It then put on the brakes on the opposite wheels to steer the vehicle back into its lane. The system can also distinguish broken and solid line markings.

PRE-SAFE

The PRE-SAFE Brake is a wide-ranging safety system that Mercedes says can identify foot-travelers and brake by yourself to avoid crashes completely when traveling at speeds of over 50 km/h (31 mph) or considerably reduce damage when moving at speeds of up to 72 km/h (45 mph). The system also automatically stiffens the front seat belts, adjusts the front head restraints and passenger seat, and can even close the windows and sunroof.

Autopilot Cars..

In late May 2014, Google discovered a new prototype of its driverless car, which had no steering wheel, gas pedal, or brake pedal, being 100% self-directed and divulged a fully functioning prototype in December of that year that they scheduled to test on San Francisco Bay Area roads beginning in 2015. It was the first driverless ride that was on a public road and was not escorted by a test driver or police companion. The car had no steering wheel or floor pedals.

In December 2016, the unit was retitled Waymo, and rolled off as its own separate division. Waymo is derived from its mission, "a new way forward in mobility".  Waymo is an autonomous car development company turned out of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., in December 2016. It then took over the self-driving car project which Google had begun in 2009. Alphabet defines Waymo as "a self-driving tech company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to move around". The new company, which will be headed by long-time motorized executive John Krafcik, is working towards making self-driving cars accessible to the public soon. The project team has well-found a number of different types of cars with the self-driving equipment, including the Toyota Prius, Audi TT, and Lexus RX450h, Google has also developed their own custom vehicle, which is assembled by Roush Enterprises and uses gear from Bosch, ZF Lenksysteme, LG, and Continental. In May 2016, Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles proclaimed an order of 100 Pacifica hybrid minivans to test the technology on.

Google's robotic cars have about $150,000 in equipment including a $70,000 LIDAR system. The range finder straddling on the top is a Velodyne 64-beam laser. This laser allows the vehicle to generate a comprehensive 3D map of its environment. The car then takes these created maps and combines them with high-resolution maps of the world, producing different types of data models that allow it to drive itself.

As of June 2014, the system works with a very high definition inch-precision map of the area the vehicle is predictable to use, including how high the traffic lights are; in addition to on-board systems, some reckoning is accomplished on remote computer farms.

JUST A CAR OR A SMART CAR..??

FUTURE CARS WILL BE SMARTER..

• SMART GESTURE CONTROL  

Believe of this as built-in sixth sense. The AUDI MMI operating system allows you to impulsively run an array of systems including steering, entertainment, interior, even ride dynamics on models opting an Audi drive. The product is a balance of unfussiness, intuitiveness and classiness to enhance your ownership experience.

• AUGMENTED REALITY DISPLAY                                                            

Having augmented reality flaunt on a car windscreen will append a lot of functionality to the car. We would be able to see information like swiftness, navigation details and even the name of an incoming call with minimalistic designs on our windscreens.

                                                                     

Head-up displays are absolutely something of the future that we should look forward to. It’ll keep our eyes on the road by giving us all the significant information without having to look at a center console display or our smartphones.                                                                                                

 An app named HUDWAY ( in your appstore),by keeping iphone on the dashboard of your car and navigation information (from your iPhone) will be reflected and displayed on your windscreen. It looks very cool but it’s not good under certain conditions, e.g. when the surrounding is too bright for the information to be clearly visibile on your windscreen.

• ENERGY STORING PANELS                                                                       

 Exxon Mobile predicts that by 2040, half of all new cars coming off the production line will be hybrids [source: Kahn]. That's great news for the environment, but one of the problems with hybrids is that the batteries take up a lot of space and are very heavy. Even with advances in lithium-ion batteries, hybrids have a significant amount of weight from their batteries. That's where energy-storing body panels come in.    

The panels would capture energy produced by technologies like regenerative braking or when the car is plugged in overnight and then feed that energy back to the car when it's needed [source: Volvo]. Not only would this help reduce the size of hybrid batteries, but the extra savings in weight would eliminate wasted energy used to move the weight from the batteries.

Toyota is also looking into lightweight energy storing panels, but they're taking it one step further and researching body panels that would actually capture solar energy and store it in a lightweight panel [source: Bey].

Whether future body panels collect energy or just store it, automotive companies are looking into new ways to make our cars more energy efficient and lightweight.

• COMMUNICATING VEHICLES

Communication between vehicles doesn’t mean you can call up the car in front of you and ask it to move out of your way. It’s more like machines communicating with each other so that there’ll be smoother traffic and less congested roads.

This technology will also increase road safety by reducing collisions between cars. For example, your car can warn you about a car that’s coming from your blind spot. If implemented correctly, this technology will significantly increase road safety, efficiency, and driving experience.