Shift Magazine - February 2022 - 14

DRIVING
COMPANION
4 ways technology is changing how people and vehicles interact
BY JOHN IRWIN
N
ot only are the ways vehicles
are powered and driven changing
rapidly, but how drivers and
passengers interact with them
is certain to change in the coming years.
From technology that can monitor the
health of drivers and passengers to augmented
reality displays, automakers, suppliers
and tech companies have signaled
that the car of the future will look and act
much differently from those of the past.
Here's a look at just four of the technologies
that could become more commonplace
in vehicles between now and 2035.
AUGMENTED REALITY
If and when autonomous vehicles
reach roadways in large numbers, information
about traffic, weather, places of
14 shift * february 2022
interest nearby and other important facts
could be relayed to vehicle passengers
via augmented reality systems. At least
that's according to Italian design firm
Pininfarina, which in 2021 revealed its
Teorema Virtual Concept Car, designed
to showcase what a high-end electric,
autonomous vehicle might look like.
The design included an augmented
reality system that Pininfarina says can
be " aligned with the real world and allow
passengers to be informed " about traffic
information and nearby curiosities,
appearing behind the vehicle's windshield
and side glass. A company rendering
shows a vehicle passing in front
of a mountain range and glacier, with
information about one of the mountains
and local weather being displayed on
the windshield as the self-driving vehicle
passes by.
Pininfarina said passengers would be
able to " interact with the information displayed
in order to learn more " or to share
it with others.
HEALTH MONITORING
Systems used to monitor whether a
driver is alert and paying attention to the
road are also starting to be used to monitor
the driver's health.
Supplier Mitsubishi Electric in January
unveiled an advanced driver-assistance
system that it says can monitor the driver's
face, pace of breathing and other signals
for signs of a heart attack, stroke or
other major health events.
The system is designed to pull a vehicle
over to the side of the road if necessary,
said Mark Rakoski, vice president
of advanced engineering at Mitsubishi
Electric Automotive America. But in the
Shift Magazine - February 2022

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