What’s inside your car?
We’ve written quite a bit about disruptive technology in new cars, whether they be production models, prototypes, or drawing-board concepts. As each new feature is introduced, we usually hear a few “WOWs” and also some skepticism until the feature is tested and accepted. Once accepted, the new feature can quickly move into the “must have” category. One current feature that isn’t widely known is the “inward facing” camera, an innovation being considered by Cadillac, Tesla, Audi and Volvo. At this point, no cars have this feature activated. Clearly there are two sides to what this innovation will look like, and those two sides are becoming all too familiar:
- this innovation is great because it knows me, helps me and makes my life easier and more convenient
- This innovation is bad as it intrudes on my private space to discover, and potentially share or reveal, information that I consider to be private.
By now, we should all be aware of the trade-offs that technology can often introduce into our lives. Given the success of products like GOOGLE Home and AMAZON Alexa, it’s abundantly clear that the masses are buying into the “convenience” aspects of technology, although there are many who warn us about the loss of personal privacy and the dangers of having your personal information used against you, such as identity theft. There are ongoing developments in the “information privacy” arena, and those technologies could also provide investment opportunities that we will carefully evaluate. To get an idea of where we’re headed, click here.
So what can an inward-facing camera do, while watching you and relaying information to all of the vehicle’s systems? For starters, you can positively identify who is in the vehicle, especially in the driver’s seat, and activate all the preferred settings for this driver. It could monitor the driver’s mood and monitor health indicators, such as glucose levels indicated in the pupils of the eyes. To alter the mood, the system could activate settings appropriate for the commute, such as music or podcasts to motivate and energize, and on the way home from work, activate relaxing music or meditative mantras. If your health indicators go off the charts, the vehicle’s systems could notify your family, your doctor, the hospital, or 911 emergency services. There are also some simple convenience issues that a camera could help with, such as notifying you that items like your wallet, computer or phone are being left behind when you get out of the vehicle.
As always, the driving force behind many of these innovations is discovering and collecting information about you, and of course, there are all those Privacy Policies that every privacy invader wants you to agree to. As mentioned above, the trade off is that they will give you some level of “convenience” and give them a lot of personal insights about you and everyone else riding in your vehicle. Those personal insights will help them advertise themselves effectively and very soon they will try to sell you even more of what they have designed and will design to make your life even more convenient.
If you want to see what vehicle technology will be like very soon, take a look at the BYTON electric vehicle on display at the world technology conference in Las Vegas: a dash display the size of seven I-Pads, a floating steering column display for the driver and a console-mounted display for the passenger. Electric vehicle interiors have never looked as stunning as this.
Let Trend Disruptors be your guide to the future as we continue to identify technology investment opportunities that can lead to financial success.
Stay tuned!