With loads of companies (even Google) currently working on making the self-driving autonomous car an everyday reality, the future looks bright for personal transport. Just imagine it: being able to read, watch movies, chat and have fun while you travel around in your own car, with no need to concentrate on driving! There are some things we’d love to see in self-driving cars though – any self-respecting self-driving cars, that is.
As Google has shown, the car that can drive itself is literally just around the corner, and it’s currently being tested out in California. But what if you want more to your car than simply pressing a button and putting your feet up? Here are some of the features we’d love to see make it into autonomous cars.
A fun mode Getting to work may be a lot easier and less stressful with a self-driving car, but loads of us car fanatics will be sad to see the death of the steering wheel. What could be more boring than a self-driving car, right? Things could be made a lot better with a ‘fun’ button or even a fake steering wheel; how about incorporating augmented reality or virtual reality so you can play driving games at the same time as actually traveling. At least the movements, sounds and some of the visuals could then be authentic, but hopefully with massively different results when you crash!
A ‘get me home ASAP’ button
One of the great things about being able to drive your own car is the ability to tailor your driving depending on the circumstances. That goes out the window with a fully autonomous car, with the car making all the decisions and choices for your. So it’d be great to have a ‘get me home’ button, which maybe gives your car that extra bit of speed, helps it to overtake other vehicles or even works in conjunction with traffic signals to ensure you get a run of green lights when you need it most.
Granny mode
Maybe it would be better to have a dial rather than a single button though; if ‘get me homeASAP’ is at one end, we’d like to see a ‘granny mode’ at the other end of the scale, slowing things down and putting ride comfort and safety above all else. Do your elderly relatives get travel sick when you drive faster? Granny mode would be perfect, making sure they’re comfortable at all times.
Remote parking
We’ve already got the tech for cars to park themselves, but fully autonomous cars could go one step further. Never mind about parking outside your house or the shopping centre you’re going to – just step out of the door and let your car worry about where to park. It could useGPS and 4G to communicate with connected carparks, finding out where there are spaces for it to sit and wait. And when you’re finished? Simply tap a button on your smartphone to let your car know you’re done, and it can whizz back and pick you up.
Self-charging, self-filling cars
It doesn’t matter what type of energy propels future vehicles – petrol, electricity, fuel cells, hydrogen – they’re still going to need topping up at some point between journeys. And if your car can drive itself, there’s absolutely no need for you to be there when that happens! Wireless charging is a great example – your car could drive itself to a charging station when you’re sleeping, top itself up, debit your account via NFC or other wireless tech, all while you sleep.
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