December 2nd, 2019 | Updated on June 25th, 2021
Cars today feature a ton of passenger comforts drivers of vehicles in the past could only dream of.
Who could imagine that cars today would have touch screen interfaces, when they only had stereo systems a few decades back?
And who could’ve thought drivers today can have gadgets and other electronics inside cars for the comfort of themselves and their passengers?
If we travel to the past with our cars, drivers back then will be nothing but bamboozled by our awesome tech. Thing is, it appears that car manufacturers are just getting started.
We’re in for more advancements in car technologies, beginning in the new decade. What else is in store for commuters, passengers, and drivers in terms of car tech?
1. Driver Profiles Make Settings More Personalized.
It can be annoying to find yourself readjusting your previous car settings because someone else wanted to try a different configuration.
On a busy day, this can take a ton of your time. Some cars have finally introduced the idea of driver profiles, wherein you can save your own settings under your own name and can be separate from the preferences of others.
Just one click, and you can easily get to your settings in no time.
2. Remote Access To Your Vehicle Through Apps.
lot of carmakers today have begun ensuring their vehicles come with special apps that you can access on your phone. These apps can help you access a wide variety of things related to your model.
These include statistics such as your oil consumption and tire pressure. These also have feature ways for you to track your vehicle, remotely lock and unlock the doors, and other things you can do with your car remotely.
3. Wireless Charging Options Make Cars Clutter-Free.
Granted, we already have USB hubs with multiple ports that we can put in cars. However, some vehicles take a step further by creating sections of the vehicle that are capable of wireless charging.
This can be extremely helpful for those who don’t want to see their car have a ton of unnecessary stuff.
While this might be a feature that luxury cars have, innovations in the tech industry will likely have us see this technology coming to our usual slate of cars as well.
4. Multiple Usb Slots Make It Easier For Passengers As Well.
In speaking of USB hubs, a lot of cars nowadays have only now started to feature multiple USB slots for other passengers, especially along the second and/or third row of driver’s seats.
This is extremely helpful if you don’t have the time to purchase a USB hub with multiple ports. This takes a lot of stress away on your end to have to purchase multiple car accessories.
At the same time, this makes charging and accessing your devices much more convenient for you. This is especially if you want to play driving games on your laptop on the driver’s seat while your family is taking you on a trip.
5. Automatic Windows Take The Stress Away From Toggling Everything Manually.
Weather can change by the second, and it can be irritating constantly having to adjust the windows whenever there’s sun, wind, rain, or even a tornado in the distance.
Thanks to automatic windows, the car itself can adjust the height of the window based on the temperatures it’s experiencing.
6. Seat Temperature Controls Ensure An Adaptive Experience For Drivers
We all want to sit in the most comfortable way possible, especially when we do important tasks. This is the same with driving.
Nothing’s more irritating to sit on an extremely hot seat during the middle of the day, and sit on an extremely cold seat in the middle of the night.
Thanks to seat temperature tech, though, we can actually manipulate the temperature of the seats to the best warmth of cold we need for the particular time of the day.
By 2020, we will hopefully be able to see adaptive seat temperature controls that don’t need manual controls.
7. Heated Steering Wheels Make It Much Easier To Travel During Cold Weather.
While this might be considered a “basic” feature, it helps for a lot of consumers to actually have warm steering wheels especially during cold temperatures.
This can help drivers avoid losing focus and stay on top of their driving game. These steering wheels are often coupled with wheels with a lot of advanced controls.
This makes it a usual addition to expensive vehicles, but improvements in tech might have these features in other lower-end cars as well.
8. Adaptive Cruise Control Is A Godsend When It Comes To Traffic.
This is especially if you’re the kind of driver to easily get annoyed with cars ahead that don’t seem to know just when to stop and accelerate.
ACC tech makes use of radars that track cars ahead of yours, and automatically makes adjustments to speed based on your settings.
This means ACC can force your vehicle to stop, speed up, slow down, and maintain a set speed depending on the car in front.
Advancements in AI and automation can help cars themselves “learn” better about their routes and make automatic adjustments.
9. Cameras And Radar Technology Can Do A Lot Of Things To Promote Car Safety.
They can be integrated to a lot of controls in your car, especially to avoid disasters. Cameras can help drivers take note of potentially-dangerous situations at low speeds, and can slow the car down automatically.
Alongside this feature, cameras and radars can help with forward collision warning and pedestrian detection.
This adds a layer of safety on your end as a driver, which is something that can be improved further with advanced AI tech beginning 2020.
10. Massaging Seats Actually Take The Spa To Your Car.
That’s right – massaging seats are an actual thing that some cars have. They’re capable of giving your back different kinds of massage based on vibrations and movement within the car seat.
This can make for an extremely comfortable ride home, especially after a busy day and when you don’t have the time to go to a spa to get a quick massage.
These are often found on luxury cars, but they’re likely going to come soon to other vehicles as well. This is thanks to improvements in automation, and the constant discovery of cheaper and more efficient methods of making materials for things like cars.
Car Tech In 2020: The Future In Driving Is Here
While we’re still a ways off from floating cars and hovercrafts, today’s car technologies do sure tease a lot of improvements towards that “dream.”
We might not see floating taxis anytime soon, but innovations in car tech beginning this 2020 only point towards more passenger comforts, add-ons in security, and more features that prioritize giving drivers and passengers the best experience possible.
With the above in mind, we’ll likely see more improvements in the fields of safety and security, entertainment and comfort, as well as driving performance and ergonomics as well.
It’s too early to determine how cars will look like in the next few decades – but 2020 is shaping up to be an exciting decade for cars and the automotive industry at large.
John Salazar
John Salazar is a certified techie-at-heart, but he shares a love for all things science and technology, health and wellness, and even a bit of music on the side. As a creative writer, John makes sure to write both informative and entertaining pieces. He loves writing, and he plays the guitar when he has free time.
