Don’t be surprised if you see a Cadillac on the road later this year being driven by a driver who has both arms up in the air like he or she is riding a rollercoaster.
General Motors is plowing ahead with its plan to offer “hands-free driving,” and is bringing the technology to the next level of testing, which includes real-world drives. The automaker hopes to have the technology on the market before 2020.
“Super Cruise is designed to give the driver the ability of hands-free driving when the system determines it is safe to do so,” said John Capp, GM director of Global Active Safety Electronics and Innovation, in a press release. “Before we introduce this capability on a production vehicle we must put the system through rigorous testing and technology refinement.”
General Motors is using other automatic driving-assistance technology, like cruise control, collision avoidance, driver awareness monitoring, lane-departure warnings, and GPS location tracking to make this system work. GM says those systems have reached a level of sophistication where engineers feel confident that they can take over complete control of steering, acceleration, braking and destination tracking in day-to-day driving situations.
GM engineers have combined these and other “active safety” features into a coordinated system that is currently undergoing real-world driving evaluation trials. GM says this technology, which it calls Super Cruise, “could make its way into production models later this decade.”
Jeremy Salinger, the program’s research and development manager, said GM is working to “continually upgrade Super Cruise’s enabling technologies.” These include radar, ultrasonic sensors and cameras that are used to determine and control driving speeds and distances from moving or stationary objects on all sides of the vehicle. Many of today’s vehicles, even low-priced models, already include sensors which regulate cruise-control distance intervals from vehicles ahead and back-up sensors to assist parking.
GM says it believes hands-free driving will be most useful in bumper-to-bumper traffic and long-distance highway driving. However, the automaker is cautiously assessing not only the way the system handles real-world traffic situations, but also how drivers will interact with what it calls “semi-automated” driving systems.
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Business people are busy people.
But now, there are a number of vehicles available that can let business people take their offices with them. Technology in a number of different forms is making people more productive even when their own the road.
Much of these high tech features come in particularly handy for self-made businessmen who own, operate and are the only full-time employee in their company. From contractors to real estate brokers, high tech cars are making everyone’s job a little more productive and a little more profitable.
Click through to check out some of the newest technologies available and how it can help different businesses.
Recommended For: Real estate broker
Imagine driving a client around in the every luxuriousAudi A7 and handing them an iPad to look at a list of homes.
But this list is connected to the Internet via Audi Connect, a literal hotspot in the cabin of the car. The client can view details of the house as Google Earth is displayed on the car’s touchscreen on the dash. (Up to eight devices can connect to the hotspot at one time.)
As you pull up to the house, the buyer can concentrate on curb appeal and already know the key facts about the home.
And if you’re not sure how to get to the next home, just use the voice recognition system to give the car the next address, and the map can route you to the next home.
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Recommended For: Florist
For the small businessman, time is money. When your business begins to expand, your employee’s time is also your money.
Ford has created a system called Crew Chief for theTransit Connect that can help you keep a watchful eye out for your employees when they’re working in a different location or moving around the city.
The system, which uses a cellular connection in every vehicle, allows the business owner to monitor his or her vehicles in real time. You’ll know when your team shows up for the job, and when they leave. You can have the system provide vehicle diagnostics to ensure a vehicle is properly maintained, too.
You can also see how aggressively your vehicles are being driven. Ford estimates that Crew Chief can help a fleet get up to 20 percent better fuel economy. You’ll even know if your crew is using their seatbelts.
The system may sound like big brother, but really, it’s letting the boss be the boss. After all, it’s still your money.
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Recommended For: One employee company
In the past, pickup tailgates have often served as desktops too. But the all-newRam 1500 has a cab better suited than many corner offices – and these windows roll down.
The spacious cabin provides lots of nooks and crannies to store everything from paper clips to post it notes. There huge center console can store a laptop computer, and the power outlet inside can keep it charged. You can even have a two-tiered console that will help you organize paperwork.
Add to that Chrysler’s UConnect Wifi system and this pickup is ready to do to the Internet what it does to mud bogs: Devour them.
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Recommended For: Executive
If you’re going to travel in style, few vehicles make as much of a statement as theMaserati Quattroporte. With it’s long lines and beautiful sounding engine, it’s a car that’s nearly as much art as it is luxurious sports car.
But this Maserati also arrives with the newest version of the Wifi-Wlan technology that turns this car into a high-tech hotspot to keep you up to speed on every stock price that matters: Yours.
The rear seats are more comfortable than the leather loungers at the club and there’s more luxurious appointments in the backseat than just about any board room.
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Recommended For: An entire company’s board
Who says big businesses can’t get things done on the road?
TheMercedes-Benz Sprinter has become a canvas for anything and everything, including a full office.
Luxurious leather seats, walnut tables, every type of connectivity offered and available. If someone can buy it, someone else can install it into a Sprinter.
There a number of variations of the Benz Sprinter with WiFi or other type of connectivity inside, as well as numerous outlets to charge up phones, computers and operate printers. You name it, it’s available, as long as you’re willing to pay for it.
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