Significance of Technology
in Automative Industry
Buttons
Purpose
Modern cars come equipped with push buttons that do things like getting the engine running and modifying the climate control system, and more.
These buttons improve the accessibility, security, and experience of the automobile's user.
Benefits
Buttons are cheap, and people usually don’t mind using their car’s buttons when their fingers are greasy.
Buttons are also easy to clean, which is another valuable benefit compared to a big touchscreen. Perhaps the most important advantage of physical controls is that they’re less distracting, and thus, they can be safer to use.
Since the buttons are always at a specific location in the car, drivers can quickly memorize where their controls are with muscle memory. This can allow drivers to turn up the A/C without necessarily looking at the A/C controls. Many drivers would have to take their eyes off the road with a touchscreen to fiddle with it.
Drawbacks
One of the good things about touchscreens is the lack of limitations to how many functions they can perform, compared to the limited buttons in a car.
Today's vehicles are more complex than ever, and we ask them to perform more tasks. Some things we want them to do aren't easily done with physical buttons and switches.
A significant factor is cost. It's more economical for automakers to program different screen layouts for various trim levels of the same car, rather than creating entirely different physical dashboard layouts (the control panel area where drivers interact with buttons, knobs, and switches) for each trim level.
Ultasonic Sound Sensor
or Ultrasonic Sensor
Purpose
Crucial to the developing automomotive industry
Innovative Features
(for specifc vehicles)
Parking Assistance
Ability to drive itself
Sensing and Respondng
to their surroundings
How does it work
Vehicles equipped with
ultrasonic sensors emit
soundwaves to the object
and then analyze the refected
waves. This can make the vehicle:
Measure distances
Identify objects
Avoid collisions
Benefits
Ultrasonic sensors can enhance characteristics like:
Automated brakes for emergencies: halts the vehicle to avoid crashes
Blind-spot detection alerts drivers to cars that are in their blind areas.
Cruise control: keeps a safe distance from other automobiles
Famous Example
A segment of Volvo vehicles
are being developed for
their Drive Me autonomous
project.
These vehicles are equipped with twelve ultrasonic sensors throughout each vehicle.
Manages car movement and speed
The sensors identify items, pedestrians, and environmental factors in various contexts
The speed and movement are affected by these situations and the sensors having the responsibility to adjust these functions.
Drawbacks
The restricted detection range of ultrasonic sensors is problematic because, particularly at higher speeds, it can make it more difficult for a vehicle to identify obstacles in time to take appropriate action.