Your fully connected car will soon be here
The Bosch connected car concept at CES 2016 can drive itself, park itself and so much more.
Autonomous driving is so 2015. These days manufacturers are showing off tech that makes your car drive by itself and so much more. The Bosch concept technology displayed here at CES this week allows connectivity, personalization and interface solutions that could help keep driving distraction to a minimum.
Envisioning a future where folks will want cars that are connected to the Internet at all times, Bosch's technology lets you see into your house. Visitors can be seen via a connected camera and the front door can be opened with the push of a button from inside the car. Climate and security options can also be controlled from the car. The house will sense when the car is close and automatically turn on the lights and adjust rooms to your preferred temperature.
Bosch also wants to make your car your personal assistant. Drop the vehicle in Automated mode and have a Skype call. Navigate throughout your whole day with connected smartphone apps using gesture and voice control. Get to your destination quicker by letting the car find its own parking spot and park itself.
The concept cockpit features screens, screens and more screens, all in an effort to get this information to the driver. The larger display units can announce collision warnings besides offering up navigation and smart device integration.
Some of the information does seem to be a bit of overkill. A camera in the steering wheel will track your eyeline and highlight whatever screen you're looking at...which you should already know since you're, um, looking at it.
Of course, there are times when you want to be in full control of the car with your eyes on the road at all times. Bosch has developed a touchscreen with virtual buttons that have their own texture and haptic feedback. For example, drivers can set their music button to have a rough texture and their navigation button to have a smooth texture. A simple swipe along the touchscreen and drivers can feel each button, selecting what they want without taking their eyes off the road.
And what would all this be without personalization? Drivers can select their favorite colors for the interior LED lights and a screen in front of the passenger can display your favorite social media apps.
Bosch predicts this technology will be ready for 2020. It should be here quicker than we think.