Top 4 Auto Innovations for 2021
2021 will serve up a serious slew of innovation to excite the tech and auto enthusiast in all of us!
Some list items aren’t fully realized yet, some are in late stages of development, but all are focused on improving qualities of life, driving, and safety (something we love to talk about).
These 4 technologies are on track for some serious growth in 2021:
1. Next-Gen ADAS
Semiconductor giant Qualcomm and automaker GM are teaming up to raise ADAS standards with their software and hardware bundles.
Qualcomm will integrate 5g connectivity and their powerful SnapDragon platform into the cockpit to offer power AR heads-up displays, advanced infotainment, rear seat displays, drive recording, digital mirrors, and a hosting platform for autonomous driving down the road--but that’s just the beginning.
More premium features will include the ability to incorporate multiple cameras for a single 360-view around the vehicle, localized sound systems for passengers, AI-powered voice recognition, automated parking, driver-monitoring, camera fusion (instead of LIDAR) for more accurate lane-positioning, and Alexa-controlled HVAC and entertainment systems.
All of these will be in souped-up dashboards that vehicle makers can adopt and make their own, with different levels of features to be packaged and sold in tiers.
2. Shared Driver Data-Collection Among Car Makers
The EU has begun creating a vehicle-safety ecosystem--the Data For Road Safety Initiative--where big-name players like Ford are willing to share their own car data with other auto manufacturers.
With the automatic uploading of data (like airbag activations, emergency braking and fog light usage) into a cloud network, the distribution of warning signs and signals to drivers in other vehicles would happen in real-time.
The entire project has been a culmination of synergy between multiple car companies, component suppliers, traffic authorities, tech providers, and multiple EU states.
3. Bicycle-Car Communication
It’s not enough for vehicles on the road to be connected to each other. Ask any driver in a busy metropolis where the road is shared with cyclists.
Entering the V2X (or vehicle-to-something) game is B2V technology, which is a bicycle/scooter-to-vehicle communication standard. Similar to V2V tech, this would allow visibility, braking, and turning signals to be shared among 2-wheel and 4-wheel motor vehicles.
Though companies like Ford, GM, Subaru, and Trek Bicycle are on board, this initiative is still in its infancy. It’s expected that technical whitepapers, field tests, prototypes with a shared codebase, and on-road pilots are on the menu for 2021 and beyond.
4. Level 5 Autonomous Driving
A final set of rules and regulations in the U.S. have laid the groundwork for autonomous driving, and progress has been ongoing throughout the past few years. Though the kinks have yet to be fully worked out, 2021 may be the year we finally get a Level 5 (fully autonomous) working prototype on the road.
Tesla, for one, is promising this by the end of 2021, which will involve the monumental task of building a supercomputer, using surround-view camera footage, and then automating the processing of said footage.
Blackberry’s and Baidu‘s collaborative effort in China will embed a system from both companies into a working electric vehicle from one of the top vehicle makers.
Who makes it to market first is still up in the air and depends on locality, but this is definitely the closest we’ve been to the futuristic scenes out of sci-fi.
