The recent rise in the number of electric vehicles has transformed our definition of what a car is. What was once merely a mode of transportation is now an entire mobile services platform. While Tesla has seized the burgeoning market with vigor, traditional car manufacturers are hot on their heels, with the electric mobility market projected to be worth over $950B by 2030. Within that, we’re going to see a whole raft of developments.
The AI chauffeur
The most fundamental advance is going to arrive in the shape of autonomous vehicles. The prospect of getting into your car, telling it where you want to go, then catching up on your office work while the car safely chauffeurs you to your destination is not only a vision of convenience but a substantial market opportunity expected to be worth $80B by 2025. That said, a number of technical and legal issues remain, making the exact arrival date of full autonomy unclear — however, with over one million people dying on roads every year and with 94% of these deaths caused by human error, it can’t arrive a day too soon. Until then, manufacturers are concentrating on driver assistance technology, using advanced sensors and machine vision to process a vehicle’s surroundings, offering drivers a semi-autonomous option.
Generating Data Instead of Pollution
Central to eventual full autonomy will be AI and the processing of big data. Artificially intelligent smart cars won’t simply be able to navigate roads, obstacles, and pedestrians, but they will know how to park, pay for fuel and tolls, fix breakdowns, predict maintenance issues and book themselves in for a service (that you won’t need to attend). It’s thought that in a single hour of driving, a smart car will generate 25Gb of data. As a result, opportunities are going to arise in the connectivity market, providing solutions for smart cars to exchange data with each other (V2V), with vehicle grids, (V2G), and with public infrastructures (V2I).
Coupled with this, we’re going to see substantial advancements in mapping technology. As smart as cars may become, their effectiveness is going to be limited by the accuracy of the data they build their analyses around. To that end, companies like Google are going to invest a great deal in making sure that smart cars are provided with the data they need in order to locate themselves with centimeter-level precision.
Redefining the Driving Experience
Aside from the navigational and safety developments, another field we’re going to see developments in is human-machine interfaces. With autonomous cars handling the driving, the passenger will be free to explore a range of new interactions with the vehicle. From voice-based to sensory-based haptic interfaces, new functionalities are going to enhance the ‘driving’ experience, encouraging people to develop a stronger emotional connection with their vehicles.
That is assuming, of course, the vehicle belongs to an individual. With the advent of connected, self-driving cars, shared mobility is going to become an increasingly popular alternative to vehicle ownership. By reducing the number of cars needed to service a population’s transportation needs, mobility-as-a-service (MAAS) is only going enhance the positive impact of autonomous electric vehicles. With a self-driving car arriving at your side whenever you need it, you won’t need to worry about parking, maintenance, or much else for that matter.
And there you have it. Modern Autotech may not be as profound a revolution as the invention of the wheel, but it’s going to run a close second place.
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