Smart Cars

Just imagine the things you could do in the backseat of your SUV while it drove itself to work. Self-driving vehicles are the answer to gridlock, road rage, and our nation's grisly highway fatality statistics. An average of 114 people die in cars on U.S. streets every day—one every 13 minutes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Smart cars could lower everyone's insurance rates and aspirin expenditures. Their efficiencies would boost economic output with relatively meager associated costs. Automated cars could do wonders for our national mood. So say more than a few automotive futurists.

The technology for building self-driving smart cars already exists. California's PATH (Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways), an organization underwritten by scores of public and private institutions, showcased as far back as 1997 a glimpse of this future. On a swath of San Diego freeway, a platoon of seven Buick LeSabres pulled into a specially designated lane. Just inches apart, the cars tailgated each other at 70mph, while the drivers sipped their lattes.

But don't hold your breath.

Until accident liability laws undergo wholesale tort reform, smart cars won't happen. Until taxpaying drivers are willing to shoulder the costs for retrofitting highways, smart cars are a nonstarter. Until it's proven that fast lanes will ease congestion, cars that drive themselves are garaged in some gauzy future.

But the digital revolution has hardly bypassed the auto industry. Cars are getting smarter. Better still, the technologies that will appear in showrooms over the next 24 months will do a lot to ease congestion and prevent accidents.

Every car produced today has at least one computer on board—to manage the ignition, regulate fuel consumption, and control emissions. Most cars have several computers. High-end makes have a dozen or more, supervising everything from shifting gears to remembering your seat position. In the coming months, even economy cars will come stuffed fender to fender with chips.

Why? Car-industry analysts believe buyers care more about the dials and switches that operate seat warmers and the stereo than about whether the engine's intake valves are made of sodium. Compared with expensive manufacturing, chips are cheap and carmakers are happy to place them everywhere possible.

Reality Check

Without question, navigation systems are the hottest ticket going among digital car gadgets. And costs are beginning to dip. MagnaWorks' Navex system, unveiled in October, adds less than $500 to the price of a vehicle. The system's map database and computing power are situated not in the car but at a call center. Route information is updated continually. If the driver makes a wrong turn, the system provides new directions.

Vehicle makers can't wait for Global Positioning System navigation to work with wireless access to the Net. BMW is at work on its Bluetooth-based iMobile system, a wireless interface that could be used in conjunction with a car's GPS unit and a wireless phone or laptop. A Web-enabled device could snatch travel route data from the GPS, mill it through a Web site, and then point the driver to the closest burrito palace. Using Bluetooth, a BMW could also transmit self-diagnosed mechanical problems directly to a dealer. But BMW officials predict the technology won't show up in cars for at least two years.

Visteon, a supplier to the big automakers, signed an agreement with Lucent this past fall to expand the use of Bluetooth in cars. The agreement gives the company a key role in establishing how the next version of the protocol will be used.

Virtually all carmakers have wireless Internet options in the works. Some will come to market this year, but most carmakers are waiting for the tangible signs of customer demand before they offer this type of technology. Two problems plague the technology: storage and wireless reception. Conventional hard drives don't like the pounding and high temperatures typical with cars. Solid-state storage systems initially will be the preferred medium, despite their much higher per-megabyte costs.

Wireless access to the Net isn't a problem on its own. But for it to become a useful part of your ride, broadband is a must. It requires a special antenna, and the orbiting satellites it relies on need an unobstructed shot at your vehicle. That means no e-mail in the Holland Tunnel and no Web browsing on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Usability is also a problem. For safety reasons, manufacturers won't put keyboards within typing distance of a driver. For now, voice activation—especially through an intermediary call center—seems to be the preferred on-ramp to the Net.

Despite logistical hurdles, carmakers are still moving forward on the wireless Internet front. General Motors' OnStar system uses GPS, a radio link, and voice-to-text technology for the Web. When an air bag deploys, an operator can phone the car, check on the occupants, and call the appropriate emergency centers. The system also monitors the vehicle's mechanical status and can notify the driver if something is wrong. Drivers can get voice directions for a specific destination and dial cell phones using voice commands. The system is available on more than half of GM's 2001 models.

In July Ford started its own wireless Web venture, Wingcast, in collaboration with Qualcomm. Ford expects to equip more than 1 million cars and trucks with the system by 2002—and all of its vehicles by 2004.

Third parties are bringing limited Net access to cars as well. AAA plans to market a handheld device over the next few months.

With the various wireless devices slated for use in the car, it's clear that carmakers need an industry standard so that any phone and handheld device can work with any automobile. The Automotive Multimedia Interface Collaboration, a consortium of manufacturers that now includes the big three automakers as well as Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, is working toward that goal. Look for an industry-standard connection in cars within the next 18 months.

Digital Dashboard

Technology is also changing the look and feel of car controls. Over the next year, dashboards will come to resemble computer screens. Conventional gauges will be tossed aside in favor of cheaper flat-panel screens where manufacturers—or even drivers—can arrange the controls to their desire. Diversified Software Industries has released a program that lets car manufacturers design dash gauges—speedometer, oil pressure, climate control—on the fly and without programming skills.

In addition, Robert Bosch and Johnson Controls have introduced prototype panels that let drivers rearrange gauges as they see fit. The speedometer, tachometer, and other readouts appear on a large panel. Products from both companies are available now.

If dash-mounted screens start serving up everything from traffic reports and street directions to e-mail and video games, will drivers pay enough attention to the road? Evidence based on existing technologies indicates they won't. A study by the University of Iowa showed that drivers who yak on cell phones are four times as likely to be involved in crashes as those who don't.

The auto industry's answer: voice activation. General Motors' OnStar technology is a prime example. Visteon recently showcased voice controls for everything from switching on the air conditioner to opening the doors on a Buick concept car. ATX Technologies, which runs call centers for Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz, has developed a voice recognition system using IBM technology. At the press of a button, a driver can ask for directions out loud.

For simple procedures—changing a radio station, dialing a mobile phone—voice activation works well. But for navigating the Internet and other complex procedures, background noise from the engine and highway tends to garble instructions. And machines go crazy when trying to decipher accents and other speech variations. As voice recognition continues to make inroads in the cars you drive, look for safety issues to become a concern for all of us.

Roadkill

An enormous amount of research has focused on the persistent problem of car safety. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, driver drowsiness or fatigue causes 56,000 accidents a year, resulting in 40,000 nonfatal injuries and 1,550 deaths. But before digital technologies can make it on wheels, manufacturers and engineers must prove that technology can bring down accident rates.

Fortunately for them, smart cars tend to be safe cars. A host of technologies now contribute to what industry analysts call cocooning. The idea is to protect the people inside the car with smart air bags while filtering out distractions for drivers.

Sensor technologies are leading the way. Adaptive cruise control is already available overseas on high-end cars from BMW and Jaguar (recently acquired by Ford). Lexus and Mercedes-Benz plan to bring the technology to the United States in some of their 2001 models. Using radar (Mercedes-Benz) or lasers (Lexus), adaptive cruise control systems detect when a driver in front of you pulls into your lane. The systems automatically slow your car.

Sensors and radar also play key roles in collision-avoidance systems. Iteris's AutoVue Lane Departure Warning System uses a camera and computer to monitor lane markings while tracking them to your vehicle's speed. The computer then predicts when you're unintentionally drifting into another lane and emits a warning signal to the driver. Viseton has developed a crash-sensing system that deploys air bags faster and more reliably. Sensors detect both the extent and severity of an impact and inflate the bags accordingly.

Delphi Automotive Systems uses a smart air bag system based on silicon devices placed under the seat cushions. They determine the weight of the seat's occupant and deploy air bags with the minimum force necessary. Delphi already has a contract with Ford, which is using the system in Jaguars. Federal regulators have mandated that 35 percent of all passenger cars include occupant-sensing air bags by model year 2004 and that 100 percent include them by 2006.

Sensors are also being used to help drivers park cars more easily, through bumper-based sonar systems similar to the technology used to dock barges. As a vehicle approaches an object, a warning device beeps. The closer it gets, the faster the device beeps. BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz will offer this technology, at least on some models, starting next fall. This past fall Cadillac introduced its thermal imaging system on its redesigned DeVille. The system lets you see up to five times farther on dark roads than low beams allow. Drivers can spot objects through fog and oncoming headlight glare. The system, developed by Raytheon, uses a sensor in the car's grille to detect infrared radiation.

At the Detroit Auto Show, Volvo demonstrated a technology that allows headlight beams to adapt to the road. When a driver turns the wheel, the headlight beam is directed toward the turn. An infrared light enhancer boosts nighttime vision beyond the headlights. Brake lights flash under extremely hard braking to alert drivers behind the car.

Look for tire safety to get a lot of attention this year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that improperly inflated tires cause 250,000 traffic accidents each year. Yet for years the technology has existed for tires to monitor their own pressure, pumping in air when necessary. Carmarkers resisted because of high costs. Last year Congress got snippy and revised some laws—no doubt propelled by the Firestone fiasco, in which tread separation was linked to more than 148 deaths in the United States. As a result, by 2003 all new cars must be outfitted with pressure-warning systems.

General Motors officials estimate that nearly one-third of the company's model year 2000 passenger vehicles already come outfitted with pressure monitors—either as standard equipment or as part of a package. Cycloid markets a system that could monitor tire troubles, then wirelessly transmit a dispatch to the Web and contact the driver.

Electronic brakes are coming to a car near you as well. In conventional brake lines, fluid isn't compressed until your toe touches the pedal. With electronic brakes, the fluid is always compressed. An electronic signal merely releases it to calipers. Continental AG, Bosch, and Delphi have all demonstrated brake-by-wire technology. As costs for the systems decline, other carmakers will adapt them as well. Mercedes-Benz plans to include it in its E-class sedans beginning in 2002. Mazda's Miata LS now comes with an electronic brake force-distribution technology, which varies the front-to-rear brake bias depending on the car's load.

Meanwhile, traction-control and stability-control systems continue to get smarter. Already, antilock brake systems are offered either as standard equipment or as an option on more than half the vehicles sold in the United States.

Stability-control systems are even more advanced. When they detect that a car's nose has plowed toward the outside of a curve, a condition called understeer, they instantly apply the brakes on the inside rear wheel. The car yaws back into the direction of the curve. With fishtailing, also called oversteer, the system gently applies brakes to the outside front wheel to restore neutral handling. Porsche and Corvette have some of the most advanced systems going, though traction-control and stability-control systems are available on a wide range of vehicles.

That's Entertainment

Needless to say, smart cars aren't just about safety. They're also going to be fun. Beginning next year, Toyota's Avalon sedan will feature a third band on its radio called digital audio radio service (DARS). It's digital radio distributed by satellite (subscriptions are $10 per month) and requires a small disk antenna and a decoder.

Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio have begun broadcasting 100 channels each of CD-quality sound from satellites. Cars from General Motors, Acura, and Honda should offer satellite radios that pick up XM broadcasts by year's end. DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and Ford will eventually offer radios that pick up Sirius broadcasts.

Even standard broadcast radios and CD players are getting better. The latest generation of digital signal processors compensate for the acoustics of a specific car's interior and ambient road noise. Already this technology can be found in offerings from BMW, Ford, Land Rover, Lexus, Saab, and Volvo. DVD players have finally begun to arrive in cars—spurred largely by GPS technology (a single DVD disc can hold maps of the entire country, so you don't have to keep swapping CDs). And DVDs are beginning to supplant VCRs in backseat entertainment systems too.

But DVDs are just the start of backseat entertainment. Oldsmobile offered an entertainment center for backseat passengers in its Silhouette Premiere minivan last year. The flip-down 6.8-inch color screen plays VHS movies and comes with four sets of headphones, dedicated rear speakers, and a remote control. Visteon makes an option for minivans that includes a Nintendo 64 game player and wireless headphones. It will appear on a variety of SUVs and minivans this year. Johnson Controls' AutoVision is a similar product.

Delphi recently took the wraps off its Communiport Mobile Productivity Center, which synchronizes Ericsson wireless phones and Palm devices, allowing drivers to make hands-free calls through voice commands and text-to-speech software. In February, the company introduced its rear-seat entertainment system, which plays DVD movies, CDs, or plug-in games.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Ziff Davis Smart Business.