The greatest misconception about the future is that it will merely resemble the past. Technology builds on itself to create faster, cheaper, and more intelligent machines. These solutions offered by Texas Instruments are stepping stones to vehicles whose intelligence and performance can only be dreamed of...
Ever thought about how archaic car mirrors are? They protrude from the sides of vehicles in ways that even the best designers cannot beautify; they are a hassle to clean and scrape off in the winter time (in spite of those car models that offer heated mirrors); and they are prone to being knocked off, smashed, and bumped into whether by car or human bodies. And even with all the hassle, the mirror provides such an imperfect view of the road, creating blind spots for which we have to crane our necks, and take our eye off the front of the car to check.
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| The schematic of the mirrorless car can be seen more fully at the FastCo.Design website. |
"For car manufacturers, 'the side-view mirror is more of a nuisance,' [Texas Instruments] solutions marketing engineer Hannes Estl tells Co.Design. Without the design constraints of an exterior mirror, car makers would have more freedom to shape the look of their vehicle. Cameras are lighter and smaller than any mirror--most automotive backup cameras fit in a 1-inch cube. And without the extra weight and wind drag from those fat side mirrors, fuel efficiency could get a major boost.
Texas Instruments, among many other companies in the world designing compelling vehicle innovations, is creating products that have rendered the need for interior/exterior mirrors obsolete, simply through the use of video cameras placed at certain points around the vehicle. What I like about this is not only the obvious functionality of the video cameras that provide a multi-dimensional vantage point, but also, as a designer, the seamlessness of the technology within the overall look and feel of the vehicle itself--not to mention the increase in fuel efficiency to boot.
There are, however, obvious criticisms to these kinds of technological developments, such as the very simple one: what if the camera malfunctions due to breakdown or being hacked into? As mentioned in other Mass Insurance posts, by giving more control over to the vehicle's technological system, we are in less control of the vehicle itself. Whose to blame if the camera malfunctions? Who gets charged? Who covers the costs of the infraction, the individual or the technology company? And did anyone else think that the length of time it took for the woman to get into her vehicle in the vacant parking lot in the darkness of night a tad too long? Between all the steps to get into her vehicle, log in her information, and find the thermos she left on the roof, a predator would have plenty of time to attack. There remains as well the issues of privacy: Who holds all the information that your vehicle acquires and tracks? These will continue to be critical questions and issues as our vehicle technology advances.
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