When your Car can Buy your Groceries

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Future Auto Tech
In his excellent book, The Future of Automotive Retail, author and CEO of Automotive Ventures Steve Greenfield begins by taking us to a time 30 years in the future when cars are far more than just autonomous EVs. According to the book, "By 2050, the number of customers interested in owning their own vehicles has plummeted. Since the passing of the Autonomous Vehicle Act in 2045, which outlawed human drivers in order to save lives, reduce city congestion, and clean up the environment, purchase patterns shifted wildly, with the majority of cars being 'owned' as part of a subscription plan."
 
In Greenfield's vision of the future, autonomous electric vehicles enhanced by artificial intelligence have become personal assistants. These moving butlers are capable of carrying out a wide variety of tasks for the human family it serves. For instance, in this scenario, the car turns on its heater to warm the battery pack and prepare the cabin of its "owner" Monty. It sets his favorite ambient lighting, temperature, music selection, driving mode and seat settings before Monty even gets in the vehicle.
 
Once on the road, the car drives Monty to work, exchanging pleasantries and reminding its human that it will pick up the dry cleaning and groceries that Monty's wife has sent via smartphone. The car shows Monty his schedule for the day including business meetings and other tasks while also presenting the latest news and weather. Once safely dropped off at work, the car returns home to take the kids to school and Monty's wife to work. Its sensors indicate that one of the car's tires is low on pressure, so it drives to the Service Center where it gets some air and then heads off to pick up the prepaid dry cleaning and groceries.
 
After work, the car picks up Monty, scans his retina and face before addressing him personally. "Good evening, Monty. Are you headed home now, or would you like to stop at the bakery along the way?" The car asks. "There's a sale on German ganache cake and it's Joel's birthday (Monty's eleven-year-old son) this weekend."
 
"No thanks," answers Monty "I'd like to get home in time to see the kids before they go to bed." And off they go on the 45-minute ride with Monty enjoying a few episodes of Seinfeld along the way.
 
While this may all sound a bit far-fetched by today's standards, we are definitely headed in the direction of self-driving cars and AI-influenced assistance for our daily commute. At a recent TechShow in Frankfurt, Germany, aftermarket automotive suppliers such as Bosch, Continental Tire, Denso, ZF and others showcased the latest technology that's coming to support automakers.

Autonomous Valet Parking for Everyone

Soon, you won't have to own a Tesla to have your EV come to you in parking structures. While Tesla's Smart Summons uses the vehicle's many sensors and cameras to return the car from its parking spot, Conti and partner Kopernikus Automotive have a more advanced solution.
 
According to an article in Motor Trend, instead of using expensive sensors and onboard computers, an infrastructure-based solution that installs cameras in parking garages to enable autonomous valet parking using the controlled braking, steering, and throttle, based on tech used in today's cars' advanced driver assistance systems. The system enables low speed Level Four autonomy in parking garages. Bosch has a similar technology that it debuted in 2020 that includes the ability to charge the EV and return it to you washed and ready for the drive home.
Curved Big Screen Infotainment
Mercedes-Benz has its massive Hyperscreen and Cadillac has a 38-inch screen to offer entertainment. But at this year's TechShow, Continental displayed a door-to-door 48-inch touchscreen that replaces the digital instrument cluster, infotainment touchscreen, and passenger display.
 
For those who want something a bit more subtle, Continental answers the call in the form of a new head's up display called ScenicView that is a modular array of dash-mounted screens projected onto a blacked out lower section of the windshield similar to the panoramic head's up display displayed on the new BMW Neue Klasse.
 
Ultimate Facial Recognition System
Like the future EV in Greenfield's book, Apple Face ID has come up with Face Connect unlock feature and Continental takes it further with an attention monitoring feature that not only recognizes your face, but the unique vein network under your skin that puts fingerprint I.D. to shame.
 
Face I.D. will be used to make sure it is really you who is trying to start your EV and can also be used to verify your identity to pay for things like charging, parking, and yes, even to buy groceries and have the autonomous EV pick them up.

A Car that can Run Errands

Ford teamed up with Domino's Pizza last year to test self-driving cars for pizza delivery. It has also been experimenting on using Postmates delivery service to bring Walmart products right to your home. Ford uses Argo AI in the self-driving car. Walmart employees put the groceries you order into the car and it drives them home to you. A touchscreen on the car's window offers instructions and gives access to the trunk, or frunk!
 
Ford says that autonomous Walmart deliveries will be available in 100 regions in the U.S. at 800 Walmart stores by the end of this year. And you thought Greenfield's predictions seemed a bit far-fetched.
 
Looks like the future may be closer than we think.