Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
On the road, an auto update
SMART CARS
As with the early cellphones, it can be hard to unlock everything a new-generation car can do. There are inbuilt virtual assistants, highly developed radar and sensor systems, embedded e-SIMs, as well as the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), and most models with a price tag of Rs 7 lakh or more have some if not all these features. So, are you getting the most out of your vehicles? Take a look.
New-gen cars are smarter and more aware of their surroundings, which helps when one is parking, reversing, etc. But they can also recognise traffic signs and scan road signs to, for instance, alert you if you’re speeding in a school zone.
In what is referred to as a Level 2 autonomous driving system, ADAS uses sensors, radar and cameras to perceive aspects such as street furniture, too-close traffic and even driver’s attention levels (based on steering and throttle input).
Certain variants of the Mahindra XUV 700 and MG Astor SUVs have sensors that also keep a vehicle in its lane (on properly marked roads), and angle headlights downward when they detect oncoming traffic.
ADAS has been a game-changer ever since it first appeared in luxury cars a handful of years ago. The other game-changer is the eSIM. These chips work a lot like SIM cards, which means that in addition to locking and unlocking a vehicle remotely using one’s phone, a car can link up with apps such as Tata Motors’ iRA (the Altroz hatchback has it), Hyundai’s Bluelink (the i20 and Creta, two cars in very different price segments, offer this) and Skoda’s MySkoda Connect to let the user switch on the AC a few minutes before they leave the house or geo-fence a car so it can only go that far with a valet (or teen offspring).
The eSIM also enables “valet mode” navigation, which means that the car can now help the driver find the nearest fuel station, EV charging point, rest stop, restaurant, as well as set service-due reminders.
Between the sensors, ADAS and the apps, cars can now talk to their owners about how they’re doing as well, in a stitch-in-time approach to diagnostics that is positively impacting safety standards. Something as simple as a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) can help prevent accidents, alerting the owner if pressure in a tyre starts to drop.
Of course, this much software brings with it the risk of bugs or breakdowns, but such issues tend to be exception rather than norm. The truth is that it would be hard to imagine returning to the cars we drove even a decade ago. As the existing tech improves and more is added, it’s only a question of time before, much like smartphones, the tech in every model is cutting-edge.