The technology and automotive industries are now closer than ever. With the advent of smartphones and personal computing, there’s a new demand from consumers for our devices to be connected. The Internet of Things is an ongoing phenomenon, and we’re now regularly hearing rumors that some of the biggest tech companies are eyeing their own place in the automotive market.
The idea of automated cars actually dates back as far as the early 20th century. The very first examples were radio-controlled and used an antenna that was operated by a second car that followed. Almost a hundred years later, there are several different varieties of self-driving cars from companies like Toyota, Audi, and Lexus. It’s Google’s prototype, first shown working last year, last has captured most people’s imagination though. This uses a mounted to generate a detailed 3D map of its surrounding environment. The car then takes these images and combines them with high-resolution maps of the world, producing different types of data models that allow it to drive itself safely.
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Changes in Production
As well as speculating on the potential new ways cars will operate in the future, it’s also worth considering how the manufacturing processes could change. 3D printing is seen by many as the future of the manufacturing process and already we’re seeing examples of how it could be used to aid the automotive industry. Local Motors claim to have create the first car that’s made almost entirely out of 3D printed parts. Not only could this drastically reduce the cost of what future generations have to pay for their cars, but making vehicles like this is also much easier. A traditional automobile is made up of around 30,000 different parts, but the vehicle that Local Motors plans to release as soon as 2017 is comprised of just 47.
Emergence of Mobile
Finally, not only is modern technology impacting how cars are made and will work, it’s also affecting how we buy them. According to research done by AA cars, the growth of mobile has had a significant effect on how consumers purchase their vehicles. Not only has web traffic from these devices increased, but they’ve allowed customers to transform the used car industry into a 24/7 market. Rather than being limited to your local dealer, you can now browse for potential new vehicles at your own leisure. As traditional car buying techniques begin to fade, the battle for consumers will be spread between dealers, online portals, and mobile app providers.