Ok, so get this awesome little fact...We. Live. in. The. Future! And it's Awesome! Flying Cars, well not yet, Self-Driving Cars...Almost another 10 years or so and you might just start to see them on the road.
Oh look, My Car is Like Knight Rider!
| Author: David Shorb | Posted: 03/12/10 | ||
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Ok, so get this awesome little fact...We. Live. in. The. Future! And it's Awesome! Flying Cars, well not yet, Self-Driving Cars...Almost another 10 years or so and you might just start to see them on the road. Car that take commands.. Check. We have that one, and It was first introduced a couple of years ago by Ford with the Lincoln and Mercury models. the Sync technology is really very awesome, even if it is done by Microsoft in super secret stealth mode.
The Sync Technology uses the Bluetooth that we all know and love, only now it's got superpowers. When you use the Sync Technology, it allows you to do hands free calling, and have your text messages read to you. You can have your caller id come up on the radio display, and you don't even have to hang up the phone if you are on a call when you get in your car. Because the Sync Tech, will automagically have the bluetooth connect with your phone, and switch it to speakerphone with the phone audio being switched to the in car speakers, and in car mic.
The Sync Technology is so smart it will read your Text messages for you so you don't have to worry about reading while driving, which is an awesome safety feature. Speaking of Safety features if the air bag deploys, or the fuel pump shuts off. the Sync Technology will dial 911 and send out your GPS location. So the Police, or EMTs can get to your location as quickly as possible.
As Part of the phone support, Sync can download your phone book. So you can make like Michael Knight, and just tell it who you want to call. Sync will also support your ringtones, and will even support the ringtone you have set for specific people.
If you have an iPod, Zune, or other PMP (Personal Media Player), just Plug it in via a USB cable and you will be able to tell the Car what it is you want to listen to, by artist, song, or Genre. If your device is Bluetooth capable, then you can just stream the music wirelessly.
Sync also supports Turn by Turn Navigation, Gives you real time traffic information, as well as give you a vehicle health report and many more awesome things, that make it more easy and more safe, and just plain awesome.
Now for some perspective, over the course of the next 5 to 10 years you can expect to see a lot more of this kind of stuff. The Car as a technology has gone about as far as it is going to go, Hybrids, and Hydrogen Cars being the exception. I would expect closer to the 10 year mark that you will start to see cars that can drive themselves on the roads we already have. You can thank DARPA (Defense Advance Research Project Agency) for that one, as they have, in the not so distant past, sponsored an event called The DARPA Grand Challenge which was held in March of 2004, October of 2005 and November to October of 2007. Each Challenge covering a different aspect of autonomous vehicle function.
In the 2004 the first year they held the event, not a single entrant was able to complete the challenge. One year later in 2005, there were five teams that completed the challenge, and 4 of them completed it in under the 10 hour time limit. The Standford Racing team was able to complete it in 6 hours and 53 minutes. Which was the fastest time out of all the teams.
In the 2007 event they had six teams that came out on top, and three teams that ended up in the money. 1st Place got 2 million, which went to a Pittsburgh, PA based team. 2nd place got 1 million and that went to a Standford, CA based team, and 3rd place got 500 thousand which went to a Blacksburg, VA based team.
It is on the technology that has been developed by these teams, that we will be getting cars that can drive by themselves, and take us to our destinations. While we sit back, and surf the web, watch a video, or read a book on your E-Reader.
Isn't it awesome that we live in the future!
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David Shorb is in his early 30's currently and resides in the Salt Lake City, UT area with his future wife. He is a avid tech geek, and Best Buy and RadioShack are like Toys R Us for him. David started his love affair with technology with an Apple IIe at the tender age of 5 yrs old.
You can also get other great Tech tips on my Blog Mind(Tech)nica!
