Automobiles have been around for more than years. Styles have changed, safety has improved and the rides are more comfortable, but functionally the vehicles are still the same as they were in Henry Ford’s time — horseless carriages. But automobiles are undergoing a metamorphosis that will make them something quite different — not just a passive instrument at the driver’s command but a vehicle embedded with communications and intelligence.
Writes ITS International:
From the perspective of the driving experience, traveler information such as navigation, weather, traffic, gas prices and parking information make practical sense. Infotainment, such as news, sports scores and streaming music, and messaging such as email, Twitter and Facebook are all important content that can be targeted to enhance the driving experience as well.
There is some debate as to how much interactivity the driver can safely engage in while behind the wheel. But that issue may become moot if driverless cars ever become the norm.
Equipping automobiles with sensors and Artificial Intelligence will give them an extraordinary edge in the ongoing competition with other modes of transportation. Not everyone will be able to afford the new breed of smart car, but life will change for those who can. Any paradigm for smart growth that fails to take automobiles’ AI revolution into account may quickly find itself behind the times.
I don’t pretend to know where it’s all going. But I am pretty sure it’s something we have to watch very closely.
— JAB
