As cars become more packed with sensors, computers, and connectivity, the possibilities to enhance the driver’s experience expand exponentially. Alps Alpine looks at how future components and technologies can change the driver experience from end to end.
Most people imagine that the driving experience starts when you get into the car, but Alps Alpine’s concept named “Seamless Smart Mobility Solution” imagine things starting in your home.
In Alps Alpine’s demo, you are subscribed to a car-sharing service that keeps track of your transportation information. The service knows your habits/preferences and schedule/destination to help you with traffic information, booking a hotel, or even order a car through a car-sharing service.
Everything can be tracked a mobile application, and your phone can even become your car key since it is a highly secure device. When the car arrives, it waits for you in the street, and the door even opens as you approach it (with your phone to identify you).
In the car, the camera can recognize you and adjust the seat and the environment to your liking. The large display dashboard will always provide relevant visual feedback, and if the car is fully autonomous, the onboard computer can even detect if you’re reading a magazine and adapt the lighting and seat position for the most comfortable experience!
Alps Alpine is known for having a wide range of capacitive sensors, and even force feedback generators to cater to all kinds of user interfaces. We’ve covered some of them at CEATEC in Japan.
If you choose the drive, the computer will keep an eye on your attention level, and make sure that you aren’t distracted or dozing off. It does happen, and the statistics show that many accidents happen within a couple of miles from home people let their guard down when in a familiar environment.
Alps Alpine is exploring these scenarios because it has built many of the components necessary for such an experience. As one of the largest supplier of automotive electronics, it tries to stay one step ahead of car manufacturers needs and is currently pitching the concept to them.
The demonstration gave us a feel for how the different experiences could work, and it seems pretty grounded and technically wholly feasible. Now, it’s up to car manufacturers to try and select what they think will work for their customers.
Filed in . Read more about Alps, Cars, CES, CES 2019, Japan and Self-Driving Cars.