Future of driving looks grim

Study finds we won't be driving at all

By PH Staff / Friday, 3 November 2006 / Loading comments

"Just doing my email..."

The company car driver of the future will be paying no attention at all to the road and the vehicles around them.

That's the future as perceived by Škoda, which today published the results of a study it commissioned from the think-tank, Centre for Future Studies. The study reckoned the company car of the future "is set to be revolutionised over the next 40 years".

By 2050, fleet vehicles are to become a “virtual colleague” to company car drivers, thanks to increased robotisation, which will hand over control to the vehicle. Škoda said that this will boost road safety and enable motorists to use their travelling time to watch the morning news, video conference or answer emails.

Manufacturers will implement haptic systems – a set of technologies from the aerospace industry that add a sense of touch to the man-made interface - to warn of dangerous conditions or even wake up drowsy drivers by vibrating the steering wheel or activating actuators in the driver’s seat.

The office will extend to the car, enabling the company car driver to have full interaction over the Internet with the office computer and personal assistant, meaning motorists can do the majority of what is done in the office, in the car. Essentially, vehicles will become a virtual colleague with full communication interaction, said Škoda. Features will include technology that can read out incoming emails to the driver, allow the driver to dictate responses, permit the driver to set up meetings, update to-do lists and write short memos.

Automated highway systems will operate on major commuter routes, creating trains of automatically controlled cars that travel close together at high speed. The agent-based software will also calculate the most cost-effective route for every journey.

However, with technology come perils; it will come as no surprise to many that company car drivers will lose their map reading abilities as dependence on satellite navigation becomes far more widespread.

Commenting on the findings of the study Dr Frank Shaw from the Centre for Future Studies said: "Škoda is to be applauded for thinking about how we will use vehicles in the future. The most effective car manufacturers spot the trends of tomorrow and start building them into the cars of today.

"The key drivers of change determining the design, manufacture and usage of the car of the future are technology, energy supply and demographics. Technology will make cars safer, cleaner and more intelligent and will also provide alternatives to our oil dependency. The car of the future will be far more of a versatile, eco-friendly, cyber-connected travelling space.”

Škoda's sales chief Martin Burke said: “Clever car design that enhances the vehicle’s experience is central to Škoda’s current and future success. This report is an important part of helping Škoda engineers to think about how people will use cars in the future and design vehicles that meet those needs.

"This forward thinking is evident in our fourth model, the Roomster, and even more so in our Yeti and Joyster concept cars."

So much for the thrill of driving...