Some car owners don’t expect much from their cars other than getting from point A to B. If you’re one of those car owners, we’re about to change your expectations.
Just like smartphones, car technology has come a long way in recent years. Now, there are a ton of current and upcoming car features that can make driving safer, more convenient, and even more fun.
Here are ten of the coolest car technologies you should look for the next time you’re shopping for a new ride.
1. Holographic Windscreens
A holographic windscreen is a heads-up display (HUD) that projects information onto the windshield in a way that it appears to float in front of the driver. This information can include the car’s speed, time to destination, fuel capacity, and even blind-spot warnings.
This means that the driver won’t have to look away from the screen to see important information and can stay focused on the road.
2. Augmented Reality Navigation
Augmented reality (AR) navigation is the next step up from a HUD.
While a HUD projects 2D information onto the windscreen, AR navigation offers 3D images.
This allows drivers to see things like turn-by-turn directions, traffic information, and even the location of nearby gas stations.
However, make sure you don’t fully immerse yourself in the 3D experience and get distracted from the road. In addition, make sure you have car insurance from a reputable provider like NRMA, so you don’t land in financial trouble in the event of an accident.
3. Self-Parking
Self-parking is one of the coolest (and most convenient) car technologies today.
Because no matter how expert you are, you will always hate parallel and reverse parking.
But with the latest self-parking car technology, you can simply pull up to a spot and let the car do the rest.
Tesla’s vision-only technology even detects a potential parking space and parks the car on its own — a true engineering marvel indeed!
4. Lane Assistance
Lane assistance is a great safety feature, especially for long-distance drivers.
This system uses sensors to detect when the car veers out of its lane. If the car starts to drift, the system will give the driver a visual or auditory warning.
Some lane assistant systems will also provide gentle steering input to help keep the car in its lane.
5. Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive cruise control (ACC) is a level up from the traditional cruise control system.
While traditional cruise control maintains a set speed, ACC uses sensors to detect the speed of the car in front of you.
If the car in front of you slows down, your ACC-equipped car will automatically slow down as well. This is a great feature for drivers who want to relax on the highway but still want to be safe.
6. Blind Spot Detection
Blind spot detection (BSD) is another safety feature, especially for drivers who frequently drive on multi-lane freeways or highways.
This system uses sensors to detect when there is a car on your side and rear blind spots. If there is a car in your blind spot, the BSD system will give the driver a visual, auditory, or vibratory warning.
7. Hand Gesture Control
As the name suggests, hand gesture control is a feature that allows drivers to control certain car functions using hand gestures.
For example, cars with hand gesture control can turn media volume up or down, answer or reject phone calls, or even open and close the sunroof in response to hand gestures.
BMW has been offering and constantly improving gesture control in its cars for many years now. The technology helps drivers stay focused on the road and not be distracted by fumbling with buttons or knobs for minor tasks.
8. Over-The-Air Updates
Over-the-air (OTA) updates are becoming more and more common in the automotive industry.
This technology allows carmakers to push software updates to cars wirelessly, just like how your smartphone gets updated.
This is a great way for carmakers to fix software bugs, add new features, and even improve existing features without the need to recall cars or bring them into dealerships.
9. Automatic Emergency Braking
Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is a life-saving feature that is slowly becoming standard in new cars. This system uses sensors to detect when the car is at risk of colliding with another vehicle or object.
If a collision is imminent, the AEB system will automatically apply the brakes to help avoid or minimize the impact of the collision.AEB is especially useful when the driver is distracted or not paying attention to the road.
10. Color-Changing Technology
How cool would it be to have your car change its color with the touch of a button?
Well, BMW’s color-changing car can go from black to white (or vice versa) using an e-ink technology called electrophoretic coloring on its exterior body panels.
The company believes that car owners should be able to personalize their cars to the maximum. In addition, the technology can also be used to display useful information like battery health on the outside of the car body.
