Split view Technology

New technological advances in automobiles is not only the talk of the decade but also is being acted upon. Mercedes Benz is definitely a part of this advancement. The technology Mercedes Benz is adding to the plethora of advancements may be one of  the most advanced technologies yet.

Have any of you seen in airports people who's computer screen is only visible to them? Well, Mercedes Benz is adding the same technology into cars. On the windshield there will be two "screens" stacked on top of each other. The top screen will be a GPS, Phone and anything necessary but not dangerous for the driver. On the bottom screen it will be entertainment such as movies, TV shows and all sorts of dangerous stuff for drivers like that.

The twist is the driver will only be able to see the top screen to help keep him from distractions, and the passenger will be able to see either screen. This will be placed in Mercedes Benz S-Class vehicles as soon as possible. This advancement can save hundreds of lives that are a result from a distracted driver. 

Cars repel phones

Apple is developing a life-saving technology that will save hundreds of lives. Over 3000 deaths and 300,000 injuries are caused by texting and driving, or being distracted by a phone while driving. Apple is planning to resolve this problem by this year, already starting in car companies such as Fararri and Volvo.

The new technology would make it impossible to use certain iPhone functions, such as text messaging in cars. How will the car know when the driver is driving? According to Apple, censors in the phone will be able to get signals from the actual car, directing the phone to go into "driving" mode and disable certain functions.

Tens of companies have already been influenced by this life-saving technology, and are trying to implement this into their car models. With hundreds of thousands of injuries each year from phone-related driving incidents, this new technology is a huge step into the future for the automotive industry as a whole. 

Body Panels That Store Energy

By 2040 , it is predicted that almost half of the cars coming off the production line will be a hybrid. But with that pro, there are also cons. One major upset is that, even with significantly improved light-weight lithium ion batteries, batteries are still extremely heavy. That is where energy-storing panels come in.

In Europe, a group of 9 manufacturers are currently working on a body panel that will be able to both store energy and also be sturdy enough to be protective. The panel will reduce weight by up to 15% allowing for better mileage also.

The panels will get extra energy from overnight charging or regenerative braking and add that to the already existing energy. Toyota is even looking a step further and trying to find a way to make it so the body panels actually capture energy from the sun and use it for charging the battery.

These panels will be made of sturdy polymer fibers and carbon resin for optimal protection and storage. Cars of the modern age are looking both for energy storing body panels and panels that actually collect light from the sun. These new innovations will help reduce the weight and help put the maximum time possible driving without charging. 

Airbags are the New Brakes

For years airbags have been one of the most crucial aspects of car safety. Mothers choose their next cars on exactly how many and how good the airbags on a vehicle are. Dads make sure their sports cars will be safe in case a crash occurs. Even grandmothers look for the safest vehicle possible to protect them from any possible crash (yes, it would probably be an under-5mph crash). Airbags have constantly been advancing, and Mercedes Benz is looking to advance them a step further.

Mercedes is testing out airbags that will deploy underneath a car when a crash is inevitable. The airbags will lift the car about 8 centimeters off the floor, protecting the passenger from various instances and also giving the car a better angle for a bumber-to-bumper collision. The bags will have a friction coating which will almost double the stopping power of the brakes, reducing damage and accidents all together.

Since this is older technology being used in a new way, we will probably see this innovation sooner than most of the futuristic ideas. Although there are no under the car airbags being produced today, soon there will be with the need for the most protective car possible to drive. 

A Computer on a Screen

New ideas for future cars are in high demand. A great idea implemented by the car brand BMW is augmented reality dashboards. Yeah, i know, nobody know what that means. An augmented reality dashboard is similar to a GPS but on the actual wind shield. This idea may seem futuristic but car companies have pondered on this idea long before GPS's were even made.

A parallel can be drawn to the Terminator. When the Terminator wants to identify an enemy a screen pops up and gives information regarding the enemy. Same concept with the augmented reality dashboard. When something unexpected pops up the dashboard will flash red or manuever the driver safely into another lane. 

This concept can save thousands of lives. Sometimes people don't notice dangerous obstacles in the road or a quick braking by the car in front of them. This dashboard is not only good, but is revolutionary in cars. 

There are also glasses being produced that can identify what is wrong with the engine of a car all by itself. This can save precious time and money for workers and customers. The reality dashboard will also be able to identify objects and zoom in or out to get a better view of such objects. 

Although augmented reality dashboards need tweaking, they are a real idea of the future. 

Cars That Think For You

Technology in cars is truly amazing. Over the course of the last hundred years we as a people have revolutionized the world and especially cars making thousands of years worth of progress. We went from a box with barely 20 horsepower that propells itself to putting thousands of horsepower into a compact car. An interesting new feature that cars of the future might have is cars that communicate with other cars.

Cars that can talk with eachother? Jeez.. That's only possible in animated movies like Cars and other Pixar films. Wrong. The US government and other organizations are seriously looking into V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle) and V2I (Vehicle-to-Roadsigns) technology that can reduce accidents by over 80%. So how does this extraordinary technology work?

V2V communication works by sending wireless information between cars. This information will include speed. distance and all aspects of each car. The information will help keep cars away from eachother if they get too close. This revolutionary new technology will signifigantly reduce deaths, also reducing stressing parents worrying about their teenage children driving.

V2I communication is of the same concept. The vehicle will send signals to traffic lights and road signs to report safety issues and even give the best possible route to the drivers destination.

These new technologies are being worked on by various organizations and universities like at MIT. With these features in play, cars may be looked at not so much as one of the biggest killers in America but more as a safe haven that gets people from one place to another with no worries. 

Pre-programmed cars drive themselves

This blog will be about breakthrough technology in cars that either hasn't been released to the public or is still being worked on.

The auto industry is constantly bringing new technology into automobiles whether it's for safety or just leisure and innovation. The idea of self driving cars has been pondered on since the beginning of cars but only recently has the technology to make that fiction true come upon us.

Using Google technology, self-driving cars like the Audi TTS in Nevada and California have already driven over 200,000 miles of highways and roads. Using various methods like lasers, radars and cameras, self-driving cars can process pedestrians, traffic lights and road signs hundreds of times faster than a human can.

If self-driving cars reach mass production, traffic can be at a minimal due to the technology put into the car. Since the main cause of accidents is human error, self driving cars can reduce and make more safe one of the biggest killers of today's world; cars. the cars would be able to communicate with one another avoiding misunderstandings and accidents and reducing accidents over 95%.

Although self-driving cars seem a long shot, the success of them is inevitable. In the next decades parents would have to teach their kids the dreadful driving and worry about accidents as cars would drive themselves with the utmost of caution. GM and other companies have already tested self-driven cars out and as time goes, the self-driven cars will be improved even further.