There are many things to be excited about for the future of cars. EVs
and hybrids offer a way for a greener drive and ways to avoid having to spend a fortune with rising gas prices
. Cars are smarter and becoming SDV, software-defined vehicles. SDV a future of immediate updates
Motortrend
interviewed a wide variety of experts for their documentary on the future of cars and technology, called “Coding the Car.” This 22-minute documentary breaks down the future of cars which are increasingly becoming more tech-heavy and powered by computers. Let’s start with some basics. What does "software-defined vehicles" mean?
Essentially technology and electrical vehicles are getting to the point where they’re more software machinery than engines, gas, and gears. Instead of driving a car, you’re more or less driving a computer.
This allows for endless possibilities. Think about how your phone changes with an update or your computer, now your car can do that too. Immediately.
If there’s, say, a bug or a feature like you have to open your door with two tugs rather than one; the company can send out an update to change it so you can open it with one. Or they can offer you new services like telling your car where you parked after a long day of hopping.
This can allow you to download apps to your vehicle to improve your experience, or if you get into an accident, they can alert the emergency services and tell them exactly where you are so you can get help faster.
A trade-off for SDV: data and subscriptions
Data is a part of the software and for computers– er cars to handle this, they will be equipped with a cellular modem to transfer data to the cloud backed up by 5G. This way, no matter where you are, you’re getting updates that customize your ride.
Some vehicles already have this, especially the fancier infotainment consoles with computers with artificial intelligence learning. And if you’re using a telematics service, you might be familiar with some of it.
Your car knows a lot about you, especially if it’s smart. It knows where you go, how long you spend there, your driving habits like how often you brake and how you brake, how you drive and when, how you park, and other little habits you might not even be aware of.
All of this is data that can be collected and utilized or, as one member of the documentary stated, “monetized.” A lot of the documentary discussed additional ways to monetize cars after you buy them, one of which is through updates and upgrades.
This is already a thing, especially for software run through subscriptions. And with this, SDVs are going to fall into the same pattern. Once upon a time, when you bought a program, you had it in its entirety and that software lived on a disc or on your computer.
With subscriptions, you rent software on a monthly or yearly basis and the software is shared with your device. You don’t get to own it because if you miss a monthly payment, you can’t use it. Car companies have been testing subscription-style features out already, though not in the USA.
On the one hand, if you change your mind about an upgrade and decide you want it, you can easily just pay for this feature, and the software will unlock it. On the other hand, who knows what common car features might suddenly be locked behind a paywall?
Additional use of data discussed in the documentary is internal cameras. By using internal cameras, the SDV can see where you’re going on your GPS and look at what you’ve put in the car. Specifically, their example was offroading and camping without camping gear.
The software can then ask you if you’d like it to order water for you or gear you may need and have it sent to where you are. Or another option for the internal cameras is to see who is in the car, and it can automatically unlock or lock the car based on this.
While the engineers of the future are excited about the endless possibility and creative collaboration this holds and hope for a future with less concern for accidents caused by distracted driving; ethical questions are abundant.
Questions about privacy, safety, and whether people who love to work on their cars can still tinker or if, once subscription services are implemented if a new car is still even owned by the consumer. Let alone the right to repair as cars move away from mechanical to SDV.
Autonomous vehicles and SDV
An exciting frontier for the future of cars and computers is autonomous or self-driving cars. These are run completely on software or are fully and 100% SDV.
The bonus is that as they learn, they can fill gaps in waning industries, like shipping and delivering products across the USA.
However, driving out on the open road on long stretches of highway is vastly different from cities, or smart cities, as we progress further into a computer-filled future.
According to the documentary, data sharing and collaboration will be key to autonomous vehicles' success.
As each vehicle manufacturer and software team develops their new autonomous vehicles, their software will need to communicate to share data to help them navigate around one another.
Saving on your car insurance
No matter what happens in the future of SDVs, you’ll need car insurance. With the possibility that these SDVs might throw your budget out of whack with new subscription services on top of your car payments, it’s important to save where you can.
One place you can save is on your insurance with Jerry
. Jerry is the number one car insurance app in the App Store, and for a reason. With over 55+ top insurers, Jerry can help you by comparing offered quotes and giving you the best deals. In less than a minute, Jerry can help you compare quotes, switch over to a new provider and save. How much might you save? Well, the average user saves $800+ a year.
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