Avoid being left behind! What are the new and interesting features on cars? (Part 1)

The replacement speed of mobile phones is simply too fast. From 2-3 years ago, the replacement speed has increased to 1 year, or even 6 months now. The configuration of mobile phones is changing with each passing day. From buttons to touch screens, small screens to large screens, single cameras to 3 cameras, fingerprint unlocking to face unlocking, it has only been a few years. In the final analysis, it is the speed of technological development that is too fast, affecting all walks of life, including the automotive industry.

In the past 10 years, the technological development and changes in the automotive industry have been tremendous, and it seems that you have missed it for a long time. So what interesting new technologies have emerged in the automotive industry in recent years? Let's take a look with Uncle Che!

Vehicle-mounted drone

Although this configuration is not common, in 2017, Nissan's special edition X-Trail (officially called X-Scape) was equipped with a vehicle-mounted drone system. The drone is used to illuminate the road ahead for the car owner to fill in the areas that the car headlights cannot reach. At the same time, the drone can also serve as a filming device to provide the car owner with a multi-perspective driving experience. Imagine that when you are driving on a narrow street, there is a "pair of eyes" on your head to see the road for you. Isn't it very convenient and reassuring?

At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September this year, Audi also launched an AI: Trail concept off-road vehicle, which is also equipped with a drone. The role of the drone is to explore the road ahead for the owner when off-roading.

Car Voice

Nowadays, Internet cars have become a hot topic, and car voice has also emerged. But when it comes to voice control systems, mobile phones are still better, such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, which recently married Siri.

The current Alexa smart voice assistant can handle some remote operations, such as turning on your home's interior lights, rice cookers and other connected appliances, and can also operate the entertainment system in the car through voice. According to reports, car companies such as Audi, Ford, Lexus and Toyota are planning to integrate Alexa into their own cars.

Wireless charging

It has to be said that charging your phone by connecting a data cable through the cigarette lighter USB port has become a normal part of many car owners' driving lives. In recent years, more and more cars have begun to be equipped with wireless charging functions.

If I were to comment, this feature is not applicable yet. First, there are not many mobile phones with wireless charging function. Secondly, the location of wireless charging in the car is a bit strange. Most of them are below the center console, which is not conducive to use. After all, most people are used to using mobile phone navigation after getting in the car, and the mobile phone is usually placed above the center console.

remote control

Smartphones have indeed improved the connection between us and cars. Through mobile phone apps, we can use mobile phones to control the start and stop of cars. This function is quite useful. In winter, you can use your mobile phone to start the car and turn on the heating and air conditioning before getting in the car; in summer, you can start the car and turn on the cooling air conditioning before getting in the car to improve the car experience.

In addition to starting the vehicle, remote unlocking and locking of the vehicle, opening the trunk and other functions can be achieved. Audi, BMW, Ford, Tesla and many mainstream domestic brands are equipped with this function. Some Tesla, BMW and BYD models can even move the vehicle.

Automatic parking

Nowadays, both high-end luxury cars and daily family cars are equipped with automatic parking systems. The system detects empty parking spaces through radar, and then determines whether the conditions are met for automatic parking, so that the vehicle automatically parks in the parking space.

From my experience, when most systems determine that automatic parking is possible, I find that the parking space itself is very wide, and many drivers may be able to reverse into the garage by themselves. Of course, there is also such a situation that the garage itself is very compact and the driver cannot get out after the car is parked. In this case, the above function can be used: remote control. The driver gets out of the car in advance and controls the car to enter the garage with the key.

Dog Mode

This is a feature launched by Tesla. In summer, even if the person leaves the car and turns on the dog mode, the car will control the air conditioning in the car and display a message such as "My owner will be back soon, the air conditioning is on, the temperature is XX degrees Celsius, don't worry" on the central control screen.

In this way, even if passers-by see the dog locked in the car, as long as they see the prompt on the central control, they will not worry about the dog's life and smash the car window. Of course, Tesla is an electric car, and there may be insufficient power, so when the battery power is only 20%, the owner will receive a notification and rush back in time.

Holographic windshield

We have all seen HUD heads-up displays, which can project some important information onto the windshield, so that we don't have to take our eyes off the road. However, some companies plan to use holographic projection to replace HUD heads-up displays and display 3D images on the windshield.

WayRay, a startup company in Zurich, Switzerland, has this idea. They use holographic technology to provide a better navigation experience and display local information for car owners. In the future, this technology will also be applied to driverless cars to provide movie services for passengers. Now car companies including Porsche and Hyundai are working with WayRay, and it is expected that this technology will be seen in cars next year.

Uncle Che’s summary

As you can see, there are still many new technologies in cars in recent years. Some may be useful, while others are not very practical for the time being. But as long as someone dares to think and do, we can always see the latest car configurations and have the opportunity to experience more convenient car configurations. In the next issue, Uncle Che will take stock of some more interesting car functions, so car friends can continue to pay attention!