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Technology and the automotive industry have developed hand in hand for a long time now. Often, cars use some of the latest technologies in their design. Let’s walk through the latest technologies and see how the future of car tech is shaping up.
Though invented in 1886, cars became widespread in the early 20th Century, after the assembly line was invented. This made it possible to mass-produce cars.
As the car evolved, it began to pick up new tech. For example, 1911 saw the invention of the electric ignition starter. This replaced the manual hand crank, which occasionally caused injuries to drivers.
Soon, cars became about more than getting from A to B. In the 1920s, cigarette lighters heated by electricity became standard in most cars. Until the beginning of the 21st Century, these were still quite common. Today, the space has been replaced by USB ports and other sockets.
The PCB board was invented in the early 20th Century and popularised in the 1950s. It revolutionised the way electronics are put together. Bulky designs became smaller and easier to repair. This invention made its way into cars, initially for simpler aspects like the window wipers and the headlights. But today the development of PCB design software has helped with so much more! Applications include antilock brake systems, engine coolant level monitors, security systems and infotainment systems (to name a few!).
In the 21st Century alone, we’ve seen many changes in car technology take place at a fast rate.
Cassette players were standard in cars from the 1970s until all the way into the early 2000s. By the end of this era, many cars offered both a cassette player and a CD player. But now Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard in new cars, reflecting how ubiquitous smart technology has become.
Satnavs may have been all the rage in the early-mid 2000s, but car manufacturers soon picked up on the opportunity to integrate this navigation technology into the car itself. Most new cars have an infotainment screen that hosts a multitude of purposes: music, navigation, parking sensors and more!
Driving assistance is another technology many of the newest cars now provide. The main two are lane assistance and brake assistance. LiDAR detection, a remote sensing method that uses laser light to measure ranges, is behind these technologies. As more drivers get their hands on cars with this tech, the future of driving could become much safer, reducing collisions.
Along with the steady takeover of electric cars, the next big development in the automotive industry could be the development of autonomous driving technology. Safety testing body Euro NCAP has been testing more autonomous driving features like automatic emergency braking. With a timeline of 2020-25 for this testing process, it looks like new car tech is going to develop as fast as ever before, if not faster!
