Technology

The 2020 BMW 7 Series is now official, and as expected, it’s bringing some serious technological artillery to bear. Here are the most important features to pay attention to, as they may be headed to the rest of Bimmer’s lineup before you know it.

As my wife will be quick to tell you, I can occasionally get a little paranoid when it comes to modern digital technology. I don’t like being tracked. I don’t like how cameras are everywhere and always turned on. I don’t like anything that even carries a whiff of 1984. As such, the Intelligent Personal Assistant in the new 2020 BMW 7 Series makes me nervous. However, at the same time, the geek in me thinks it’s pretty damn cool.

The trend towards electric and electrified vehicles, as well as other power alternatives to what we now call conventional engines (of the internal combustion variety), is clear and more and more of these vehicles are being sold each year. In fact, a recent report by the Financial Times states that even though the peak year for internal combustion-engined cars was expected to be 2022, it is now believed that the peak year was in fact 2018.

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show has now officially reached full chat, and many of the major automakers are there to show off their latest and greatest gadgets and concepts. Kia is among them, arriving in Vegas to debut its vision for an autonomous, intelligent, highly connected transportation system that can understand your moods and adapt itself accordingly.

Hyundai Mobis, the parts and services division of Korean auto giant, took part in the festivities of the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show with a concept that embraces the role that lights play — yes, lights — in improving the safety of autonomous driving vehicles. Called the Communication Lighting Concept, the coupe-like creation’s importance isn’t grounded in its appearance, but more so in the technology it carries. In this case, the concept is equipped with an assortment of lights and displays that it uses to communicate its intentions to pedestrians and commuters alike, alerting them of potential dangers and hazards on the road. Hyundai Mobis says that the technology can be rolled out in a quick and cost-effective manner, though that would still depend on the willingness of automakers to incorporate the technology into their own vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia announced the commercialization of autonomous vehicles by 2021 and the full-scale production of autonomous vehicles by 2030. Yet, in a video about the future of electric and autonomous vehicles it published only days ago, Hyundai and Kia graphically showcased the features of the inductive charge system and proposed an autonomous valet service for its cars. The technology will land on Hyundai-Kia cars in the future, but it won’t reach mass production until electric vehicles reach Level 4 of autonomy. According to projections, this will happen around 2025.

Nevertheless, the system Hyundai-Kia proposes could noticeably improve the efficiency of the charge ports by automatically controlling the vehicles after the charge is complete. In short, the vehicles will move to a free parking spot after the recharge process.

Furthermore, the technology will probably solve the problem of jams in parking locations.

Toyota seems to be on a roll at CES. The company showcased its technology called ‘Guardian’ a couple of days back, and now, it has unveiled the TRI-P4 automated driving test vehicle. The P4 is based on the all-new fifth-generation Lexus LS 500h and will be used in Toyota Research Institute’s Guardian and Chauffeur automated driving system development.

Technology company Harman was on-hand at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show to showcase a new technology that could redefine the way in-car communication takes place. The new audio technology is called Premium Communications, and it includes three potentially game-changing features — In-Car Communication (ICC), ClearChat with Far-End Noise Cancellation, and Personal Communication Zones — that could create a more pleasurable environment inside our cars. There’s no word yet on whether Harman plans to put this new tech to market.

I thought I had sen it all, but then Hyundai revealed the Elevate Concept, an Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV), at this year’s CES. It is a car. Actually, a vehicle that can drive and that can walk. Yup, you’ve read that right. The Hyundai Elevate Concept is one of the latest projects that has developed in the minds of Hyundai designers heads from the Hyundai Cradle Center for Robotic-Augmented Design. These people are obviously buried into sci-fi, or, at least, into things that Boston Dynamics does with its robots. Hyundai Cradle created a vehicle that looks a bit like that Boston Dynamic cyberdog, or the Star Wars AT-AT walker. But the Hyundai Elevate Concept isn’t supposed to go to war (well, it is a bit). In fact, it is an out-of-the-box design exercise that shows the possibilities for an all-terrain vehicle that weren’t explored before.

And, with this, I do not imply comparing it with the machines that can conquer Moab. The Elevate Concept is a vehicle designed to help the unfortunate in search-and-rescue missions, on humanitarian missions, or to walk over terrain no vehicle has ever managed to traverse. Its go-anywhere capability is unmatched even by the most extreme offroad machines you can think of. All because of the robotic legs with tires linked on far ends. Actually, as I visually inspect the Elevate Concept, I am rather sure that a similar sketch exists somewhere in a NASA office in a drawer where all the rejected designs for Mars rovers reside. I get that vibe from this. It’s like Hyundai designers looked to create a vehicle for the Earth from the perspective of some “alien NASA” designers. I actually like it a lot.

The Hyundai Cradle, a Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences, that actually envisioned the vehicle, managed to craft something that goes well beyond what a standard car, or a truck, can do. The Hyundai Elevate Concept can walk, climb, and traverse almost every kind of terrain.

BMW’s Designworks division is showcasing its latest project at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. Developed together with outdoor clothing company The North Face, the concept is called the Futurelight Camper, and it’s essentially a futuristic camping tent that traces its roots to the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model Concept that the German automaker unveiled in 2008. If anything, the Futurelight Camper Concept proves that just because camping doesn’t necessarily extend to being a high-tech affair, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in the comfort of a camping tent that comes with a geodesic-dome frame made from carbon fiber and a high-tech fabric that comes from a process called Nanospinning technology. Unfortunately, it looks like the Futurelight Camper Concept is going to remain a concept for the time being.

It’s been two years since Honda unveiled the innovative "Dream Drive" in-car entertainment system at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Now, the Japanese manufacturer returns to the CES with a much-improved version of the "Dream Drive" system that incorporates a compelling array of features for both the driver and his passengers like the ability to make in-car purchases, hotel reservations, play games, or watch movies.

The first prototype of the "Dream Drive" in-car infotainment system that Honda brought to CES in 2017 was merely a preview of what the automaker has on its stand this time around. Back then, we were awed by the in-car VR experience offered through a partnership with DreamWorks. However, Honda made it clear that this wasn’t the system’s only use and that it would give those traveling in Hondas of tomorrow an all-in-all better in-cabin experience through entertainment, education, music and the ability to do almost anything without leaving the comfortable seats of the car.

Every automaker is working towards road and vehicular safety in some way or another. While most of them are doing it through autonomous technology, Toyota Research Institute had a breakthrough last year to fulfill its moral obligation towards road safety. In a nutshell, the technology, called “Guardian,” coordinates the skills of the human driver and the vehicle they’re driving. What’s even better is that Toyota intends to share this with other automakers as well.

As automakers continue to sharpen their technological prowess for autonomous convenience and the latest infotainment goodies, Audi is looking beyond, and has announced it will take steps towards the creation of something a bit unexpected - virtual reality in-car entertainment.

Chinese automotive startup Byton is looking to make waves at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. As if boasting a seven-inch touchscreen embedded into the steering wheel and an eight-inch touchpad between the front seats aren’t enough, Byton’s also rolling out a 48-inch display that’s equivalent to more than seven iPads put side-by-side. If the massive display — it’s called the “Shared Experience Display “ — ends up on the production version of the M-Byte SUV, it would become the largest screen in the auto industry, making Tesla’s own 17-inch screen look like a pocket display by comparison.

Volvo has decided to offer a driver-facing camera in its cars within the next one year, citing it as a safety feature. With privacy being a real issue these days and AI intruding the personal space, is this a wise move? Also, how are the introverts and camera-conscious people supposed to drive with camera staring at their face at the all time?

Everywhere you look you see automakers propping up their latest ’skateboard’ platforms jampacked with batteries, each with more power than the last and each offering a lower center of gravity and extended mileage. But there are still people who stick with the age-old combustion engine and try to make it better. Camcon Automotive is trying to do just that by implementing the first fully-digital valve system out there.

It’s common knowledge that an engine needs camshafts to operate. The camshaft is a rod that spins and, with its cams, opens the intake and the exhaust valves which then spring shut before they’re reopened again by the camshaft’s action. This motion is timed with the motion of the pistons, and it directly affects the engine’s performance and efficiency. That’s why people have been trying to find ways to improve this area of the engine for decades. A case in point is the invention of engines fitted with desmodromic valves that are no longer closed shut by a spring, but by using two cams and two actuators which open and close the valves. Delage used this setup on its 1912-1914 Grand Prix cars. The solution we’re talking about now takes care of the camshaft in the sense that it eliminates the need of one, or multiple, big camshafts.

The fingerprint scanning sensor in phones is not a big deal anymore, but it is still a gimmick, in its baby stage, in the auto industry. It is, however, found on the Bentley Bentayga on the center console to hide and secure your precious valuables. However, it is slowly crawling into mass cars as well, as Hyundai is about going to implement fingerprint recognition technology in its premium SUV, the Santa Fe.

Additive manufacturing, known more popularly as 3D printing, is a novel manufacturing technique that’s captured the imagination of the car industry, promising a long list of benefits for both automakers and consumers. But of course, as is the case for any new technology, there are always questions over safety - but rest assured, Bugatti is rigorous when it comes to testing, as evidenced in this four-and-a-half minute video.