The auto industry is a true American behemoth, being one of the largest automotive markets in the world – and one which employs nearly half a million Americans, to boot. This industry thrives on change, with a number of key paradigm shifts having utterly disrupted the sector in the last decade. What technological leaps have shown to be most promising for this shifting industry?
Going Electric
The biggest change we have already seen in automotive design is the shift to electric vehicles, or EVs. As fossil fuel supplies become more volatile – and as the specter of climate change looms ever larger over the world – demand for cleaner and more accessible alternative-fueled vehicles has risen. Meanwhile, battery technology has improved significantly in the past decade, enabling the design and manufacture of viable EVs that can compete with fossil-fueled autos for range, power and fuel efficiency.
Tesla has been the poster-child for EVs in the US, having been early to market with tech-led vehicle models that provide comfort and practicality. However, major manufacturers have already managed to bring their own EVs to market, with designs and specifications improving on a month-by-month basis as opposed to a year-on-year basis.
Sensors and Safety
Alongside the incredible dramatic leaps made with regard to cell technology, so too have microelectronics enjoyed major innovative progress. Sensors have already been used to some extent in mass-manufactured vehicles, whether to probe the temperature of the engine while running or the external temperature; today, though, proximity sensors are an extremely common find in even entry-level models of vehicle, to say nothing of the incredibly complex arrays that modern production vehicles use to control everything from traction to fuel injection and beyond. The outcome is a safer and more reliable vehicle.
Auto Autonomy
Speaking of safety, a unique intersection between safety and convenience has taken a furtive step closer to livable reality in recent years: autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars have been in the realms of science fiction for decades, but recent advancements in machine learning and AI algorithm design have enabled researchers to give cars ‘intelligent’ reactivity. While full autonomy is still some way off, it is a problem that is being solved; today, intelligent cruise control systems have us a good percentage of the way towards science-fiction future.
The Blockchain
Finally, it is impossible to talk about technological advancement without acknowledging the emergence of blockchain as a key tool. Blockchain is typically discussed around fintech and related industries, given its role as the foundational blocks of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. However, its practical utility extends beyond these niche cases. Blockchain protocols could become indispensable for secure sharing of driver data, or even for bringing redundancy and reliability to the supply chain in manufacture.
