It was Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, who once said that if the auto industry had had the same progress as Silicon Valley, we would have flying cars by now. Disappointing as it is, we don’t have cars that can fly, but we do have the next best thing, electrical vehicles (EV), and autonomous driving cars.
Both these technologies are already part of our life today. Which reflects man’s long-term love affair with cars. For most car owners, a vehicle is very much part of their life. And when you have a car that has been serving you well through the years, you would want to make sure the car is well serviced as well. Nowadays, auto services such as TNT ServicesLinks to an external site. make it easy for you to have your vehicle checked, detailed, cleaned, renewed, and restored with less hassle.
Electric Vehicles
A car powered by electricity has been in the dream pipe for years. Fuel shortages over the years and the rising costs of gas made looking for a more affordable and sustainable fuel source a necessity. And that’s when the electric vehicle made its appearance. At first, there were doubts about the speed and functionality of the car. But the EV not only met the expectations of its proponents, it even proved to be a better alternative than cars that run on fossil fuel. For one thing, the electrical vehicle doesn’t have a combustion engine with all the internal parts and exhaust issues. The lithium batteries which are very much the standard for most EVs these days are environmentally friendly as well.
And when you consider the low cost of recharging the battery, the electrical vehicle seems to excel in every category over its more traditional counterpart that runs on gas or diesel. And since the battery is one of the most crucial components of the EV, taking a closer look at the different types of EVs can give us a good idea of why many consider them to be the future of transportation.
The first EV type is cars that run solely on electricity. These cars have a battery that can be recharged. With fewer moving parts than cars that run on fossil fuel, a battery-powered vehicle gives you less of a headache when it comes to maintenance. These vehicles also produce less noise on average and run very quietly. You won’t have to worry about spark plugs, clutch gearsLinks to an external site., or exhaust problems for that matter. It’s a clean and quiet car that burrs on the road instead of roaring. And since it doesn’t use gas or diesel, you won’t have to worry about the rising gas prices or fuel shortages.
The other type is hybrid vehicles. Offering two sources of power, electricity and traditional fuel, hybrid vehicles are more suitable for long journeys. You can easily switch between gas and electricity any time along the way and avoid the regular stops to refuel or recharge. And depending on how you look at them, hybrid cars have the best (or the worst) of both worlds.
Autonomous Cars
Who wouldn’t like to sit back in the car and not worry about maneuvering traffic or deciding on the best route home? For those who can afford them, private chauffeurs are the best solution. But for the rest of us, a self-driving car is just the dream car we all want. An autonomous car doesn’t need any supervision or involvement from the driver. It is well aware of the environment around it and can manage traffic perfectly well.
What makes self-driving cars such an intriguing prospect in the auto world is that they come in different flavors and types. On a scale from 0 (no automation) to 5 (full automation), you can choose the car that works best for you. But since we’re talking about the future of transportation, our focus will be on self-driving cars. Each self-driving car has powerful processors that collect data from sensors and actuators in real-time. With complex algorithms and advanced machine learning systems, the car keeps track of not just its current location, but also the location of every object in its vicinity as long as it’s switched on.
This means that the car will create a map and update it in real-time while also navigating other vehicles and pedestrians on the road. It monitors the traffic lights using video cameras and keeps a vigilant eye on nearby cars with the help of radar sensors. And to help it get a 3-D map of its surroundings, the car uses LidarLinks to an external site.. As for parking, the wheels are equipped with sensors to detect and avoid curbs and other parked cars.
To say that an autonomous car is a miracle of technology is an understatement. Which in a way puts it above the budget of many car owners. Additionally, there’s the possibility that the Lidar pulses of two or more autonomous cars driving down the same road might interfere with each other. Also, it’s still not clear how a self-driving car will handle itself in adverse weather conditions. Since the sensors and camera use the lane marks on the road to stay its course, if the road is covered by snow, this could lead to an accident.
But despite these misgivings, the self-driving car is considered the brightest spot in the future of transportation. More even so than flying cars or other sci-fi movie inventions that are yet to materialize.
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