As a child of the 80s and 90s, I fully believed that we’d all have flying cars by the time I grew up. Fast forward to adulthood and I’m somewhat disappointed that our cars remain stuck with their tires on the ground. Despite my disappointment, I still find myself amazed at what automotive technology looks like today. Driverless cars, complex AIs, and even a singing car are all in the near future, even if the cars remain firmly on the ground.

Check out these advances in automotive technologies!

One problem that we’ll always have no matter the new technology: you can’t completely take away the possibility of human error. Even if you get to skip the gas station with an electric car, you still have to keep your battery charged up. This drone patented by Amazon would deliver a charged battery to give the car a boost and help it get on it’s way.
2017 brought the first test of driverless cars to the public streets of Canada. Although the streets were closed off during the testing, this shows one more step forward for the development of autonomous cars throughout the world.
Has the idea of a “mobile device” taken on a new meaning with autonomous cars? Cars are already full of mechanized automation (headlights that sense the darkness and cruise control, for example), but the future car will likely be integrated with apps such as Maps, Uber, Lyft, Spotify and Pandora.
Toyota has joined the gold rush for developing automotive vehicles and has announced plans to begin testing these new cars in 2020. But Toyota’s plan stands out from the rest as it says these cars will be powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). This includes the ability to chat with riders and integrate feedback based on their emotions and habits.
Safety is one of the biggest concerns with autonomous cars. Nissan has faced one aspect of this challenge head-on with the development of “singing cars.” These cars will play notes as a warning to pedestrians. We’ve all had an electric car sneak up on us with its quiet motor, so an alert to pedestrians might help save lives.