5 Futuristic Features In Cars

Yes, it's 2016 and we still haven’t been able to come up with a hoverboard yet. But that doesn’t mean that the future as shown to us by Steven Spielberg is a long lost dream. Although, his deception of the year 2015 might have been blown out of proportions, but there are several technologies that exist today, which can be termed as essentially futuristic. When we say ‘futuristic’ it doesn’t mean that your car can fly into outer space or is fueled by plain water (although that’ll be totally awesome). It is simply a figure of speech that implies that the technology has never been seen before in any other car and appears right out of the pages of science fiction. If you have been fascinated by the futuristic automobile technologies, here are some real time examples of such tech used in cars.

1. Voice Commands

Remember the highly responsive A.I. from the Iron Man movie? Unfortunately, that tech is still not available with any production vehicle and might take some serious military grade investment. But, that doesn’t mean voice command in vehicles isn’t possible as exemplified by the highly revolting ‘Scythe’, built by Galpin Auto Sports. The vehicle is a highly modified version of a Mustang that features a highly responsive voice control system that handles nearly every function in the car (even driving). Although this isn’t a production vehicle, but the seamless use of Bluetooth tech for voice commands is definitely something that can be termed as futuristic?

2. Head-Up Display

Do you ever get the feeling that all your vehicle information should be more conveniently visible than the pesky instrument cluster behind the steering wheel? Thankfully whatever technology that we have currently is enough to solve this problem by providing an interactive display right onto the windshield. The information is neatly placed on the glass so that it never gets in the way of your view but also doesn’t require taking your attention off the road. The technology can be found in several luxury vehicles by premium brands such as Mercedes, BMW, Aston Martin and Audi etc.

3. Application Extensions

If the various user generated software applications can turn your humble cell phone into a miniaturized computer, imagine the world of possibilities one can achieve by using a similar technology in cars. Just like how smartphones and smart television sets are slowly becoming the preferred mode of communication and infotainment, same will be applied to the cars of the future. These apps will not only make driving your vehicle far more convenient but will also enhance the vehicle’s functionality. The technology is currently exemplified in the Toyota Fun-Vii Concept that is essentially a smartphone on wheels.

4. Self-Repair Paint

Paint job maintenance surely doesn’t come cheap and it hurts like a million nut punches every time the car of your dreams receives a ding or scratch. Not only is the repair extremely expensive, but it also takes a considerable amount of time to get even the smallest of nicks and dings off your car. This thankfully can be solved by the essentially magical Self-healing paint, that will take the load off your pockets. Any scratch on the paint surface will automatically disappear within minutes leaving a surface that looks as good as new. This revolutionary technology sadly hasn’t been applied to any production vehicle yet that raises a lot of questions related to the automotive industry's marketing practices.

5. Gesture Controls

A vehicle that can be driven just by using simple hand gestures is surely not possible with a production car for now. But that doesn’t mean that automobile manufacturers aren’t thinking in that direction as exemplified by the German manufacturer Audi Inc, who introduced an advanced gesture-based control system named as the MMI touch. This function can control gear shifting, navigation, infotainment system, and several other functions reducing the number of control knobs in a vehicle.

These above-mentioned technologies are a fact that even though we haven’t been able to keep up with the timelines that popular culture has established, we’re not that far from actually creating something totally next-gen. While there might be several years before someone actually invents time travel or human teleportation, auto geeks will have to satiate themselves with what they have for now.