As cars become more like computers on wheels, technology is playing a bigger role in our driving experience. Here are five auto technology trends that made their mark at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show is Las Vegas that may be coming soon to a vehicle near you.
1. In-Car Health Monitoring (APMA’s Project Arrow)
Project Arrow, the Canadian-made electric concept SUV made by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA), gets some innovative and groundbreaking technology including smart textiles that monitor your health while driving. The textured steering wheel on Project Arrow has web-enabled textiles, courtesy of Toronto-based Myant, the world’s first end-to-end Textile Computing company. Myant knits sensors and actuators into textiles, giving them the ability to sense and react to a driver’s inputs. It tracks a driver’s health and measures their vital signs including heart rate, respiration and temperature and displays it on the steering wheel. If there’s a serious emergency – for example, a driver is suffering a heart attack at the wheel – the vehicle would take them to the hospital for treatment.
Canada's home-built concept SUV Project Arrow is on display at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
2. Eye tracking devices (Polestar)
The new Polestar 3 SUV comes with Sweden’s Smart Eye driver monitoring technology. It’s designed to help prevent accidents and save lives. The technology uses cameras and AI software, from Smart Eye that’s powered by Nvidia central computing, to detect the driver’s state in real time. It can track the driver’s head, eye and eyelid movements and if the driver isn’t paying attention, the vehicle will trigger visual and audio warning messages to get their attention and help them focus on driving. It even has an emergency stop function. If the system detects a distracted or drowsy driver isn’t reacting or paying attention, it’ll bring the vehicle to a complete stop. Smart Eye is already available in more than one million cars globally. It is standard on the Polestar 3.
The new Polestar 3 comes standard with eye-tracking technology to help prevent accidents and save lives.Supplied
3. Biotechnology-based materials (Mercedes-Benz)
Biotechnology and lightweight materials with small environmental footprints will play a bigger role in vehicles of the future. The door pulls, for example, on this Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept are made from biodegradable vegan silk. This is the first use in the automotive space of biotechnology based on material invented by AMSilk in Germany. The carpets are made of bamboo and the seats have two leather alternatives – biomaterials made from vegan cactus leather and mycelium, a rootlike network of fungus that’s fast growing and sustainable. It takes two weeks to grow with 100-per-cent renewable energy. Both look and feel like leather, but are completely animal free.
This Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX concept has parts made from biodegradable vegan silk.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
4. Cybersecurity and data protection – (Jeep)
Waterloo, Ont.-based Blackberry uses AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in cybersecurity, safety and data privacy. BlackBerry IVY is a cloud-connected automotive AI platform co-developed with Amazon Web Services (AWS), that’s designed to build secure data solutions for the software-enabled vehicles of the future. This Jeep Grand Cherokee has BlackBerry IVY, which among other things, can gather vehicle data and offer predictive insights on the behaviour of car components, such as brake and tire wear, before they fail or maintenance issues arise. BlackBerry IVY also offers secure in-vehicle payment transactions. With Car IQ, the first payment network for cars, the new vehicle-wallet connects vehicles to merchants and lets drivers pay for items, such as fuel, EV chargers, parking or service maintenance, from the dash of their car. No physical credit card is required.
This Jeep Grand Cherokee has BlackBerry IVY, which can gather vehicle data and offer predictive insights on the behaviour of car components, such as brake and tire wear.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail
5. Rise in Radar Tech (Lexus ES350)
We’re seeing a rise in radar technology to keep drivers and pedestrians safer on the road. This Lexus ES350 sedan has 4D imaging radar with NXP, the world’s No. 1 chip maker. The 4D imaging radar, from CubTEK, can detect and track objects that are up to 300 metres away – much better than the human eye. It’s designed to avoid obstacles and collisions caused by unclear vision as we move from Level 2 semi-autonomous features to Level 5 autonomous driving in the future. In-vehicle radar technology can also sense light, breathing and heartbeat, detecting sleeping babies and pets so drivers don’t forget them inside the vehicle.
This Lexus ES350 sedan has 4D imaging radar to detect and track objects.Petrina Gentile/The Globe and Mail