3 Car Technology Advancements Coming To The Roads in 2017

Car technology advancements are moving at an increasingly rapid pace, as company after company tries to get in on the growing automotive market. Many of the most interesting new features found in modern vehicles stem from partnerships between traditional automakers and tech pioneers making their best predictions regarding what the world of tomorrow will look like.

Let’s take a look at three of the most exciting advancements in car tech that have been or will be released this year.

1. Smart Home Integration

Can you imagine car technology advancements that enable your vehicle to talk to your house as you both enter and leave the garage? That’s more than on the horizon — it’s already here in the form of the Alexa integration introduced by Ford and Amazon earlier this year at the CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alexa provides in-car command over home lighting, garage doors and any other device that might be connected to your house’s computer network via the SYNC3 infotainment system found in new Ford vehicles. Other automakers are also stepping up to the bat with connected car offerings that will make it to market as the year goes on.

2. More Active Safety Features

Active safety features are also being deployed in a greater number of vehicles. Lane keeping, which can steer your car automatically between the lines on the road is one exciting example of active safety technology. Adaptive cruise control is another; it uses radar to automatically match the speed of the traffic ahead. Finally, 360-degree camera systems, which offer an unfettered look at the area around your car, are making their way into the mainstream. After years of availability in high-end luxury models, this equipment is increasingly found on the option sheets of entry-level compact cars and SUVs, improving security even for buyers on a more modest budget.

3. In-Car Connectivity

In order to feed all of these high-tech systems and convenient services, it’s increasingly important for car technology advancements to have access to a fast internet connection. General Motors already offers an in-car Wi-Fi 4G LTE hotspot with every one of its models, and other manufacturers are racing to deliver similar connectivity — either behind the scenes for background services or by linking to the driver’s mobile phone. This is all paving the way for V2X communications, which would allow a vehicle to communicate with the surrounding infrastructure — such as traffic lights and weather stations — to develop a more detailed image of the environment it’s traveling through.

2017 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for car technology advancements. Stay tuned for updates on what lies ahead.

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