Not all the technology set appearing in cars in the next few years is aimed at driver convenience like making sure the iPod syncs properly with the in-car entertainment system. The new technology appearing on cars, like the upcoming BMW 7-Series, will make cars smarter and safer and help the driver keep their eyes on the road.
Technology, such as ABS, stability control and airbags, has traditionally appeared on top of the line models before filtering down to the cars that the rest of us drive. Here are five technologies that will eventually end up on your car in the next decade.
Road sign recognition
It seems like science fiction, but BMW's new 7-Series can read speed limit signs and then project the limit into the drivers vision using a heads-up display. The system uses a camera built into the rear-view mirror. It scans the street for signs (it can also read the increasingly-common variable digital speed signs) and then compares the data to information stored in the satellite navigation system.
The data stream from the camera is given priority over the satellite navigation information, meaning that the system will work if there are temporary speed limit changes due to road-works or altered traffic conditions.
Although the system can advise the driver about the speed limit, it does not enforce the limit, so the driver remains in control.
Pedestrian identification/night vision
Another technology appearing in the new 7-Series is night vision that can detect pedestrians on or near the road and alert the driver. The night vision system uses a thermal imaging camera that peers ahead of the reach of the headlights and provides a moving video image thats shown in the central command display of the car and also in the heads-up display if the car is fitted with it.
The system uses intelligent algorithms - another way of saying it uses smart software to analyse the data from the thermal imaging. The thermal camera detects heat, in much the same way that night vision goggles do. If the camera and the software detects a person, they are highlighted in yellow on the video image.
According to BMW, the system will provide additional warnings if it detects that the person ahead is at risk, if they are on the road in the path of the car, for example.
The system minimises the number of warnings given to the driver by analysing each situation individually and creating a “warning corridor” around the car and the person ahead. The warning corridor is created by taking into consideration data about the car, such as speed, steering angle and whether any of the wheels are starting to slide.
In-car broadband internet access
Mobile WiMAX is an emerging wireless broadband technology poised to appear in our cars sometime in the next decade. Unlike the mobile phone system, mobile WiMAX offers true broadband speeds even when youre moving around.
According to research firm Gartner, the car industry is just beginning to realise the potential for mobile WiMAX. The potential is there to stream rich-media content, to enable video conferencing for passengers and to enable new diagnostic and testing scenarios, says analyst Thilo Koslowski.
The new BMW 7-Series doesn't have mobile WiMAX, but it is offering access to the internet using Edge technology. In a sense this is a baby-step towards offering full broadband in the car. That's because Edge is old technology, even lagging behind the wireless 3G technology built into most mobile handsets.
Where the BMW system is a breakthrough is the fact that full internet access is allowed in the car - in the front seat so long as the car isn't moving, and in the back seat at any time.
BMW hasn't said if it will make internet access available in Australia. Overseas the company is charging a flat rate for internet access from the new 7-Series.
Lane departure and lane change warning. This is not particularly new technology - BMW, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have been offering it for a while, and others plan to do so. But it is the technology likely to filter down fastest to the cars the rest of us drive.
It works by using cameras, usually located in the rear-view mirror or at the front of the vehicle, to scan the lane markings. If the car's cameras and computer detect that the driver is shifting out of the lane without indicating, they get a warning. Some cars warn the driver by vibrating the steering wheel, others do it by vibrating the seat base, or projecting a warning onto the centre console or the heads-up display.
Lane change warning is a similar technology but instead of using cameras, it uses radar to monitor the blind spot around the rear three-quarter of the vehicle. If the driver indicates and the system detects a vehicle in the blind spot, then the driver is given a warning. This can be a visual warning Audi has a series of lights in the side mirror, while BMW has a warning triangle that is illuminated in the side mirror or a tactile warning, such as a vibration from the steering column or the seat base.
Driver monitoring technology
Stop, revive, survive is the mantra in Australia when youre taking a long journey. Fatigue is still seen as a major contributor to our road toll, with some studies suggesting that fatigue is responsible for more accidents on freeways and motorways than alcohol.
Mercedes-Benz has developed a system that monitors the driver for fatigue and when it detects that the driver is getting tired it issues an auditory warning, and a display in the centre console saying Attention Assist. Break!
Volvo also has a system in its upcoming XC60 that will warn the driver when it notices slowed reactions.
So how does it work? Mercedes-Benz has found that steering inputs are particularly relevant to monitoring driver fatigue. What tends to happen is that a tired driver makes minor steering errors which are often quickly corrected in a characteristic manner. In other words, the driver has trouble keeping the vehicle on track.
The system also takes into account indicator use, accelerator position, and external influences such as wind and road surfaces. During the first few minutes of a journey, the system creates a driver profile that is then compared with the drivers behaviour throughout the journey. When the drivers behaviour starts to vary from the profile, a warning is issued.
Mercedes-Benz says that the system will go into production in 2009, however it hasn't said which models it will appear on. The Mercedes-Benz system is part of a broader suite of technologies that research firm Gartner has christened mood recognition technologies. These technologies sense the emotional and physical state of the driver using cameras, and driver input (such as in the Mercedes-Benz Attention Assist technology) and then alter the cars systems to suit.
This could be something as simple as changing the lighting in the vehicle to address high stress - some colours have been shown to lower stress levels - or playing dynamic music to help address fatigue.
Mood recognition also takes into account eye tracking technology, which could be used as a secondary interface to the vehicle. An example might be that the car prepares for music commands issued by voice when the driver looks at the stereo, or minimising navigation information when the driver looks at the side mirrors or rear mirrors.
So far mood technology hasn't made an appearance in any series production cars. But it's a sure bet that it will in the next decade or so. Stop, revive, survive is the mantra in Australia when youre taking a long journey. Fatigue is still seen as a major contributor to our road toll, with some studies suggesting that fatigue is responsible for more accidents on freeways and motorways than alcohol.
Mercedes-Benz has developed a system that monitors the driver for fatigue and when it detects that the driver is getting tired it issues an auditory warning, and a display in the centre console saying Attention Assist. Break!
Volvo also has a system in its upcoming XC60 that will warn the driver when it notices slowed reactions.
So how does it work? Mercedes-Benz has found that steering inputs are particularly relevant to monitoring driver fatigue. What tends to happen is that a tired driver makes minor steering errors which are often quickly corrected in a characteristic manner. In other words, the driver has trouble keeping the vehicle on track.
The system also takes into account indicator use, accelerator position, and external influences such as wind and road surfaces. During the first few minutes of a journey, the system creates a driver profile that is then compared with the drivers behaviour throughout the journey. When the drivers behaviour starts to vary from the profile, a warning is issued.
Mercedes-Benz says that the system will go into production in 2009, however it hasn't said which models it will appear on.The Mercedes-Benz system is part of a broader suite of technologies that research firm Gartner has christened mood recognition technologies. These technologies sense the emotional and physical state of the driver using cameras, and driver input (such as in the Mercedes-Benz Attention Assist technology) and then alter the cars systems to suit.
This could be something as simple as changing the lighting in the vehicle to address high stress - some colours have been shown to lower stress levels - or playing dynamic music to help address fatigue.
Mood recognition also takes into account eye tracking technology, which could be used as a secondary interface to the vehicle. An example might be that the car prepares for music commands issued by voice when the driver looks at the stereo, or minimising navigation information when the driver looks at the side mirrors or rear mirrors.
So far mood technology hasn't made an appearance in any series production cars. But it's a sure bet that it will in the next decade or so.
In-car broadband internet access
Mobile WiMAX is an emerging wireless broadband technology poised to appear in our cars sometime in the next decade. Unlike the mobile phone system, mobile WiMAX offers true broadband speeds even when youre moving around.
According to research firm Gartner, the car industry is just beginning to realise the potential for mobile WiMAX. The potential is there to stream rich-media content, to enable video conferencing for passengers and to enable new diagnostic and testing scenarios, says analyst Thilo Koslowski.
The new BMW 7-Series doesn't have mobile WiMAX, but it is offering access to the internet using Edge technology. In a sense this is a baby-step towards offering full broadband in the car. That's because Edge is old technology, even lagging behind the wireless 3G technology built into most mobile handsets.
Where the BMW system is a breakthrough is the fact that full internet access is allowed in the car - in the front seat so long as the car isn't moving, and in the back seat at any time.
BMW hasn't said if it will make internet access available in Australia. Overseas the company is charging a flat rate for internet access from the new 7-Series.
Lane departure and lane change warning
This is not particularly new technology - BMW, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have been offering it for a while, and others plan to do so. But it is the technology likely to filter down fastest to the cars the rest of us drive.
It works by using cameras, usually located in the rear-view mirror or at the front of the vehicle, to scan the lane markings. If the car's cameras and computer detect that the driver is shifting out of the lane without indicating, they get a warning. Some cars warn the driver by vibrating the steering wheel, others do it by vibrating the seat base, or projecting a warning onto the centre console or the heads-up display.
Lane change warning is a similar technology but instead of using cameras, it uses radar to monitor the blind spot around the rear three-quarter of the vehicle. If the driver indicates and the system detects a vehicle in the blind spot, then the driver is given a warning. This can be a visual warning Audi has a series of lights in the side mirror, while BMW has a warning triangle that is illuminated in the side mirror or a tactile warning, such as a vibration from the steering column or the seat base.
Technology, such as ABS, stability control and airbags, has traditionally appeared on top of the line models before filtering down to the cars that the rest of us drive. Here are five technologies that will eventually end up on your car in the next decade.
Road sign recognition
It seems like science fiction, but BMW's new 7-Series can read speed limit signs and then project the limit into the drivers vision using a heads-up display. The system uses a camera built into the rear-view mirror. It scans the street for signs (it can also read the increasingly-common variable digital speed signs) and then compares the data to information stored in the satellite navigation system.
The data stream from the camera is given priority over the satellite navigation information, meaning that the system will work if there are temporary speed limit changes due to road-works or altered traffic conditions.
Although the system can advise the driver about the speed limit, it does not enforce the limit, so the driver remains in control.
Pedestrian identification/night vision
Another technology appearing in the new 7-Series is night vision that can detect pedestrians on or near the road and alert the driver. The night vision system uses a thermal imaging camera that peers ahead of the reach of the headlights and provides a moving video image thats shown in the central command display of the car and also in the heads-up display if the car is fitted with it.
The system uses intelligent algorithms - another way of saying it uses smart software to analyse the data from the thermal imaging. The thermal camera detects heat, in much the same way that night vision goggles do. If the camera and the software detects a person, they are highlighted in yellow on the video image.
According to BMW, the system will provide additional warnings if it detects that the person ahead is at risk, if they are on the road in the path of the car, for example.
The system minimises the number of warnings given to the driver by analysing each situation individually and creating a “warning corridor” around the car and the person ahead. The warning corridor is created by taking into consideration data about the car, such as speed, steering angle and whether any of the wheels are starting to slide.
In-car broadband internet access
Mobile WiMAX is an emerging wireless broadband technology poised to appear in our cars sometime in the next decade. Unlike the mobile phone system, mobile WiMAX offers true broadband speeds even when youre moving around.
According to research firm Gartner, the car industry is just beginning to realise the potential for mobile WiMAX. The potential is there to stream rich-media content, to enable video conferencing for passengers and to enable new diagnostic and testing scenarios, says analyst Thilo Koslowski.
The new BMW 7-Series doesn't have mobile WiMAX, but it is offering access to the internet using Edge technology. In a sense this is a baby-step towards offering full broadband in the car. That's because Edge is old technology, even lagging behind the wireless 3G technology built into most mobile handsets.
Where the BMW system is a breakthrough is the fact that full internet access is allowed in the car - in the front seat so long as the car isn't moving, and in the back seat at any time.
BMW hasn't said if it will make internet access available in Australia. Overseas the company is charging a flat rate for internet access from the new 7-Series.
Lane departure and lane change warning. This is not particularly new technology - BMW, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have been offering it for a while, and others plan to do so. But it is the technology likely to filter down fastest to the cars the rest of us drive.
It works by using cameras, usually located in the rear-view mirror or at the front of the vehicle, to scan the lane markings. If the car's cameras and computer detect that the driver is shifting out of the lane without indicating, they get a warning. Some cars warn the driver by vibrating the steering wheel, others do it by vibrating the seat base, or projecting a warning onto the centre console or the heads-up display.
Lane change warning is a similar technology but instead of using cameras, it uses radar to monitor the blind spot around the rear three-quarter of the vehicle. If the driver indicates and the system detects a vehicle in the blind spot, then the driver is given a warning. This can be a visual warning Audi has a series of lights in the side mirror, while BMW has a warning triangle that is illuminated in the side mirror or a tactile warning, such as a vibration from the steering column or the seat base.
Driver monitoring technology
Stop, revive, survive is the mantra in Australia when youre taking a long journey. Fatigue is still seen as a major contributor to our road toll, with some studies suggesting that fatigue is responsible for more accidents on freeways and motorways than alcohol.
Mercedes-Benz has developed a system that monitors the driver for fatigue and when it detects that the driver is getting tired it issues an auditory warning, and a display in the centre console saying Attention Assist. Break!
Volvo also has a system in its upcoming XC60 that will warn the driver when it notices slowed reactions.
So how does it work? Mercedes-Benz has found that steering inputs are particularly relevant to monitoring driver fatigue. What tends to happen is that a tired driver makes minor steering errors which are often quickly corrected in a characteristic manner. In other words, the driver has trouble keeping the vehicle on track.
The system also takes into account indicator use, accelerator position, and external influences such as wind and road surfaces. During the first few minutes of a journey, the system creates a driver profile that is then compared with the drivers behaviour throughout the journey. When the drivers behaviour starts to vary from the profile, a warning is issued.
Mercedes-Benz says that the system will go into production in 2009, however it hasn't said which models it will appear on. The Mercedes-Benz system is part of a broader suite of technologies that research firm Gartner has christened mood recognition technologies. These technologies sense the emotional and physical state of the driver using cameras, and driver input (such as in the Mercedes-Benz Attention Assist technology) and then alter the cars systems to suit.
This could be something as simple as changing the lighting in the vehicle to address high stress - some colours have been shown to lower stress levels - or playing dynamic music to help address fatigue.
Mood recognition also takes into account eye tracking technology, which could be used as a secondary interface to the vehicle. An example might be that the car prepares for music commands issued by voice when the driver looks at the stereo, or minimising navigation information when the driver looks at the side mirrors or rear mirrors.
So far mood technology hasn't made an appearance in any series production cars. But it's a sure bet that it will in the next decade or so. Stop, revive, survive is the mantra in Australia when youre taking a long journey. Fatigue is still seen as a major contributor to our road toll, with some studies suggesting that fatigue is responsible for more accidents on freeways and motorways than alcohol.
Mercedes-Benz has developed a system that monitors the driver for fatigue and when it detects that the driver is getting tired it issues an auditory warning, and a display in the centre console saying Attention Assist. Break!
Volvo also has a system in its upcoming XC60 that will warn the driver when it notices slowed reactions.
So how does it work? Mercedes-Benz has found that steering inputs are particularly relevant to monitoring driver fatigue. What tends to happen is that a tired driver makes minor steering errors which are often quickly corrected in a characteristic manner. In other words, the driver has trouble keeping the vehicle on track.
The system also takes into account indicator use, accelerator position, and external influences such as wind and road surfaces. During the first few minutes of a journey, the system creates a driver profile that is then compared with the drivers behaviour throughout the journey. When the drivers behaviour starts to vary from the profile, a warning is issued.
Mercedes-Benz says that the system will go into production in 2009, however it hasn't said which models it will appear on.The Mercedes-Benz system is part of a broader suite of technologies that research firm Gartner has christened mood recognition technologies. These technologies sense the emotional and physical state of the driver using cameras, and driver input (such as in the Mercedes-Benz Attention Assist technology) and then alter the cars systems to suit.
This could be something as simple as changing the lighting in the vehicle to address high stress - some colours have been shown to lower stress levels - or playing dynamic music to help address fatigue.
Mood recognition also takes into account eye tracking technology, which could be used as a secondary interface to the vehicle. An example might be that the car prepares for music commands issued by voice when the driver looks at the stereo, or minimising navigation information when the driver looks at the side mirrors or rear mirrors.
So far mood technology hasn't made an appearance in any series production cars. But it's a sure bet that it will in the next decade or so.
In-car broadband internet access
Mobile WiMAX is an emerging wireless broadband technology poised to appear in our cars sometime in the next decade. Unlike the mobile phone system, mobile WiMAX offers true broadband speeds even when youre moving around.
According to research firm Gartner, the car industry is just beginning to realise the potential for mobile WiMAX. The potential is there to stream rich-media content, to enable video conferencing for passengers and to enable new diagnostic and testing scenarios, says analyst Thilo Koslowski.
The new BMW 7-Series doesn't have mobile WiMAX, but it is offering access to the internet using Edge technology. In a sense this is a baby-step towards offering full broadband in the car. That's because Edge is old technology, even lagging behind the wireless 3G technology built into most mobile handsets.
Where the BMW system is a breakthrough is the fact that full internet access is allowed in the car - in the front seat so long as the car isn't moving, and in the back seat at any time.
BMW hasn't said if it will make internet access available in Australia. Overseas the company is charging a flat rate for internet access from the new 7-Series.
Lane departure and lane change warning
This is not particularly new technology - BMW, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have been offering it for a while, and others plan to do so. But it is the technology likely to filter down fastest to the cars the rest of us drive.
It works by using cameras, usually located in the rear-view mirror or at the front of the vehicle, to scan the lane markings. If the car's cameras and computer detect that the driver is shifting out of the lane without indicating, they get a warning. Some cars warn the driver by vibrating the steering wheel, others do it by vibrating the seat base, or projecting a warning onto the centre console or the heads-up display.
Lane change warning is a similar technology but instead of using cameras, it uses radar to monitor the blind spot around the rear three-quarter of the vehicle. If the driver indicates and the system detects a vehicle in the blind spot, then the driver is given a warning. This can be a visual warning Audi has a series of lights in the side mirror, while BMW has a warning triangle that is illuminated in the side mirror or a tactile warning, such as a vibration from the steering column or the seat base.
