Man and Machine in harmony?
The ID.3 is my first car that tries to be intelligent. VW call these features 'assists'. I think we are all used to parking aids, and yes these are a godsend - knowing how close you are to something and helping avoid those dings and scratches that invariably happen is now considered a must. Ultrasonic sensors around the front and back with a visual and audio feedback of which sensors have something close to them is pretty basic stuff nowadays. Adding a reversing camera might even give you a better understanding of what you are doing at the time.
But that's old tech by today's standard.
Manufacturers are taking this a stage further with Tesla leading the way. Let's have a look at some of the new systems on the ID3.
First there's a radar in the front of the car. This is used to measure the distance away from the car in front when travelling at speed. Now link this to cruise control and we now have the ability to decide to not only hold a particular speed, but also to speed up and slow down according to the car/traffic in front of you. VW call this Adaptive Cruise Control. If you do a lot of Motorway driving then its a really nice feature. It will allow you to keep a safe distance from the car in front and the car will react automatically, even slowing the car to a near stop if called on! Feeling the brake pedal move without you doing it yourself is quite unnerving at first!
Second there's a camera looking forward at the road ahead. The car uses this for a number of interesting functions.
First it can use this to determine where the lanes in the road are. VW call this lane assist. It can interpret the white lane markings and then use this information to decide if you are within the lane boundaries. If you are not, it will make a slight adjustment to the steering to bring you back into the lane. As a driver it might seem like the car is fighting you, especially if its intentional. This is speed based and works really well on Motorways or Dual carriageways.
Second the camera can also interpret road signs. The ID3 can use this information to help decide if it should slow down or speed up, or simply warn the driver. Again, feeling the car speeding up or slowing down on its own takes a bit of getting used to.
Thirdly the ID3 can use data from the Satellite Navigation system to also enrich the experience. Advance warning of traffic delays might help you decide on a new route or maybe head to a different charging station. There's also the concept of ID3 cars cars talking to each other (Car2C) and passing information about the road ahead. That's a really interesting concept...
Of course it is not the sensors or the navigation data itself that makes the car intelligent it is how this information is now being used to directly impact what the car is doing in realtime. This is now what is pushing the boundaries of traditional car manufacturers, including VW.
We are no longer just driving a car, we are using a technology much akin to when the iPhone was released it changed the way a phone was used. The automotive industry is just only just staring its own journey...