Look, I am connected with my friends even 
while I am driving my car!!!
Are you one of those people who need to
be connected to the Internet, no matter
where and no matter what?
Is posting on Facebook or commenting
on Twitter or searching for something on the Web important
to you even as you maneuver your car in traffic?
Well, this is now a possibility. New technological advancement is now enabling
car manufacturers to build in these features in their cars. Cars with come with
such built-in features are called “Connected Cars”.
Connected Car Technology
The connected car technology is fast expanding and as per a group director at a technology
consulting firm, within the next five years, out of the new cars that are being sold,
more than 90 percent will be connected cars. The new generation looks at this as
the next step towards “connectivity” in your lifestyle.
The new Entune system that is being introduced by Toyota can now link with smartphones.
This then enables drivers to access the Internet and get forecasts regarding the weather,
get directions, search for other information, etc. Some other car manufacturers are
allowing the users of their cars to access social media from their cars.
This may sound like a good feature to have, but this connectivity comes with its own set of risks and hazards.
Research has shown that accidents can be caused if the driver is not attentive or is distracted. Talking on
a mobile phone while driving is considered to be a hazard, and is equated to unsafe driving, similarly
browsing the Internet while driving can also be qualified as unsafe.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) through a study has concluded that texting using a hands-free device is more dangerous than a driver using a hand-held device to make phone calls. So, some companies that deal with adding these features to cars are working on introducing speech recognition software that will enable the driver to listen to his or her text messages and then dictate a text message to be sent out, thus keeping his or her hands free to drive steer the car. Gesture recognition systems are also on the rise to keep the usage of hands at the minimum.
But, features like what Volvo has been planning to introduce, involve, analyzing the road, to ensure that the car does not swerve off the road or avoid accidents at night. There are regulations that are being put in place to ensure that new cars have a technology built into it to trigger emergency calls without the driver needing to do so, in case of an accident.
There are requests from the AAA to the safety regulators that regulations need to be put in place as to what can be developed and installed in connected cars to ensure the safety of these cars on the roads.
challenges automakers face regarding the Connected Car
Thus, the most important challenge that automakers who are developing connected cars are facing is, to provide technology that the user desires, but at the same time, ensuring that safety is not compromised. Users also need to be careful about the usage of connectivity when they drive.
Thanks the TIB Team