Five major changes happening in the driving experience

In the morning, after the alarm goes off but before you get out of bed, you pick up your smartphone from your bedside table and summon your car to work.

During the morning rush hour, smart city infrastructure will guide the way for driverless taxis, and an electric car parked at a charging station a few kilometers away will quietly drive along a seamless route to your home.

　　When it arrives at your door, the vehicle will call your mobile phone and display your name and destination on the side window to confirm that you are the passenger of the vehicle. By calling up your previous driving experience, it can remember some of your preferences, such as temperature range, seat position, interior lighting and music type, and adjust these parameters to take you to work.

　　You don’t own the vehicle. Like a city’s bike- or e-scooter-sharing systems, it’s rented, but it’s also powered by a sophisticated artificial intelligence system.

　　What once seemed like science fiction to drivers is becoming a reality—with DLP® technology and other innovations powered by advanced sensors , processors, microcontrollers, and more on display at this year’s CES.

　　“Technology is bringing us closer to the goal of the driver becoming a passenger, so the driving experience becomes increasingly personalized, automated and convenient,” said Heinz-Peter Beckemeyer, head of TI’s Automotive Systems business unit. “In addition, the electronics that sense the environment, communicate with the vehicle systems and issue commands are core components of the vehicle, often without the driver’s intervention.”

　　While driverless taxis are still a bit far off, here are five ways the riding experience is changing, either already happening or soon to be happening:

　　Personalization reaches new heights

　　As the digital cockpit continues to evolve, more and more displays will appear on the dashboard, head-up displays will mirror information on the windshield, and the car's displays will adapt to your line of sight. Turn your head to the right, and the navigation map will appear on the right screen. Turn your head to the left, and the map will move to the left screen.

　　With a more personalized driver monitoring system, you can monitor health indicators such as heart rate and blood sugar levels, so you can complete a quick and convenient physical examination. Enhanced connectivity enables remote medical treatment in the car: Say goodbye to the experience of squeezing out an hour from your day to visit the doctor. You can contact the clinic while commuting and send important vital signs information using the 5G network.

　　Say goodbye to button manipulation

　　No more searching for buttons to change radio stations. Control your vehicle with intuitive gestures thanks to TI mmWave radar technology. Turn on your lights or even tint your windows with a wave of your hand. In the future, vehicles will be easier to use with a set of control gestures and some important configurable haptic features.

　　“One gesture application that has become increasingly common is the ‘kick to open’ function, which uses sensors to open the trunk without having to touch the vehicle. If the driver has the key, they can simply swing their foot under the trunk to open it, which is very convenient when you have shopping bags in your hands,” says Heinz-Peter.

　　Improve visibility of objects ahead

　　There shouldn't be blind spots. A small digital camera replaces the mirror and projects high-resolution video to a screen on the dashboard, even in rain or snow.

　　Highly sensitive cameras work in conjunction with radar and LIDAR to give you a broad view of your surroundings, sensing the speed and shape of objects in front and behind your vehicle, and alerting you via augmented reality on your screen or heads-up display.

　　Adaptive functions improve the intelligence of driving

　　Cameras can not only make us drive smarter, but also make us ride smarter. For example, if the camera detects a pothole in the road ahead, the vehicle will adjust its suspension system to prevent passengers from feeling bumpy. Although this technology is currently only installed on certain vehicles, cameras can help to install this innovative technology on more cars in the future.

　　Many vehicles can begin using adaptive high beam headlights, which are not dazzling to drivers of oncoming vehicles and can react intelligently to the surrounding environment.

　　“Future vehicles will also be able to project letters and symbols onto the road, such as warning signs for pedestrians, and DLP technology will make it easier for drivers to drive in bad weather conditions,” said Heinz-Peter. “With current high beam systems, the light reflects off heavy snow and creates a white wall in the driver’s field of vision. In the future, adaptive high beams will adjust to improve the driver’s field of vision on the road.”

　　Increased connectivity helps cars talk to everything around them

　　Connected to the cloud via 5G, vehicles will be able to communicate with other vehicles, the smart grid, and the vast array of connected objects in the Internet of Things. When you leave the grocery store, voice recognition technology connected to your smart home devices will allow you to preheat the microwave on your drive home with just a voice command. Once parked, your vehicle can stay connected and automatically download updates.

　　Connected cars can significantly enhance communication with other vehicles, improving driving performance. For example, if a car stops in an emergency due to a fallen tree, it can pass this information to other cars within a mile of it. Or, multiple cars in an area can inform each other of traffic conditions or severe weather conditions so that they can re-plan their driving routes. Or, light poles embedded with sensors can detect and alert drivers to new vacant parking spaces or the upcoming opening of bridges.

　　“The electronics and features we are putting into vehicles today are driving us into an exciting future for the automotive world,” Heinz-Peter said.