Will ACES vehicles steer us into the future?
As of 2022, there were 1.446 billion automated vehicles on Planet Earth. It’s a stunning fact. Each was carefully considered by a manufacturer, designed to comply with worldwide regulations, yet distinct enough to justify its creation. new technologies have streamlined our cars – digital HUDS and more intelligent systems under the hood abound – but the act of driving itself hasn’t changed all that much since the UK’s network of roads was heavily developed in the 1950s. Cars get us from point A, to point B. When we consider the car of the future, it’s typically driverless, or even roadless.
In the here and now, however, more tenable transformations in how we drive are becoming roadworthy, and they’re right around the corner. ACES refers to Automated, Connected, Electric and Shared vehicles, and the acronym signals a gear shift in how humans experience the road before them. As outlined by NTT, the future of Britain’s roads could be just around the corner.
“Car manufacturers have traditionally differentiated themselves through their brand values based on design and performance such as horsepower and torque.”
– NTT’s report
NTT predicts that tech-savvy users want all the bells and whistles they can get on their cars. For many, the future of driving is a cost-prohibitive action – even learning to drive is expensive – but the bleeding edge has rarely cut the common man. The most impressive automobiles are now hyper-connected transport hubs themselves (ever-updated thanks to the Internet of Things), but do we really want that, or is it just what’s being driven down our throats?
The car of the future – too soon?
NTT exists to help its clients transform using smart solutions and IT modernisation, and its findings hint at a world that’s unsure if increased vehicle connectivity will improve our roads. A 2021 Deloitte survey found that although 83% of Chinese customers do desire advanced technology in their cars, those in the USA and Germany consider it less vital, charting at just 44% and 33% respectively.
“The automation of vehicles has generated a lot of hype in recent years,” says Houssem Abdellatif, Global Automotive at NTT DATA, yet whilst that may be true, the majority of road users can only dream of reaping the benefits of driver assistance. Furthermore, poor reliability, cripplingly high development and model costs, and both legal and regulatory concerns place roadblocks in front of our driving dreams. Anecdotally, I find parking hard; NTT boasts that recently, a private 5G network was used to create automated valet parking. Drivers put their faith in smart vehicles connected to a “smart infrastructure” to park using cameras and sensors.
Would you trust your car to park automatically? NTT’s findings posit that the car of today is the purporting weak link, but the link between the driver and the vehicle is one of trust – we trust that the mechanical act of driving will respond to our commands – and NTT is expecting drivers to take a real leap of faith in that regard. There will be a transitionary period, of course; the British Government continues to assess automated vehicle technology, but for many of us, there’s no telling just how far down the road ACES technology truly is, of if we even need it.
Source: How ACES is steering the car into the future.
What benefits would prompt you to buy a car of the future? Does the idea of putting your faith in an ACES vehicle scare you? Do you actually like driving? Take the wheel, and let us know what you think in the comments.
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