Smart Electronics: 5 Most Effective Assistants in Your Car
Time flies faster, and the progress of automotive technology and everything connected with them makes it possible to simplify the life of the driver.
Today, many motorists can take advantage of EZ rent a car at Aguadilla Airport in Puerto Rico, Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, or somewhere else to stay on four wheels anywhere in the world.
Also, with the development of modern automotive systems, an autopilot is not fiction, but a very real option for some Tesla electric cars. In turn, other brands are not lagging behind in the implementation of their proprietary technologies, and now many cars are able to independently travel on the autobahn or drive downhill without the participation of the driver.
So, check out not the most perfect, but the most useful and accessible electronic assistants, which greatly facilitate the driver’s life…
Active Cruise Control
This technology is no longer news, but most drivers still haven’t used this system even once – the fact is that it’s installed mainly on the premium segment models. Cruise control allows you to independently maintain the set speed on the highway.
You just choose how fast you want to go and activate the cruise control with a special button. Then, the car with the help of the built-in radars will see the road ahead and brake if an obstacle appears in front. For example, such systems are actively used by Mercedes-Benz or Volvo, and they completely free the driver’s legs from boring pedaling. Alas, this system hasn’t yet learned to steer independently.
Hill Descent Control (HDC)
This is another type of cruise control, which also allows you to forget about the pedals and takes care of the smooth movement of the car on a steep slope. This system is especially relevant for SUVs, the owners of which may not have the necessary dexterity to keep a heavy car on a slippery surface or a sharp rise.
When approaching the descent, the driver also activates the assistant with the button and simply removes the legs from the pedals. Further, the system itself with the help of brakes, low gears of an automatic transmission and traction control systems maintains a safe speed of the car within 5-15 km/h.
Thus, the risk of skidding and rash actions from fright, including a possible coup, is completely eliminated. Also, HDC is very useful when you need to start moving uphill. Similar systems are provided by BMW, Land Rover and Nissan.
Head-up Display
It’s not even necessary to talk about the usefulness of this technology – this system allows the driver to always keep his eyes on the road. You no longer need to be distracted by the navigator, radio or dashboard, because all this data is literally before the eyes of the driver.
In most premium cars from BMW, Mercedes and Audi, projection displays are already installed. All the necessary parameters up to engine speed and tips about the desired highway exit are really projected directly onto the windshield. At the same time, the image doesn’t interfere with seeing the road, since the driver can focus his eyes literally through it.
This technology turned out to be so convenient that many companies have already released kits for installing a projection display in almost any car. This can be done even with the help of your own smartphone!
Cylinder shutdown system
The first to come up with this technology were American manufacturers who have long liked big motors. However, in most situations – in particular, for driving around the city you absolutely don’t need a huge V8 power unit, because such a motor will just work at half power.
In order not to burn excess fuel, the system can turn off half of the cylinders without supplying fuel to it, but simply pumping air through them. Thus, gluttonous 6-liter V8 engine of your Chevrolet Tahoe, with a quiet ride will turn into a very economical 4-cylinder car. However, the system will work only with very calm driving and low engine speeds – if the driver presses the gas pedal a little sharper, it will be very difficult for a large motor, and it will come to life again with all its cylinders.
Automatic parking system
Volkswagen began its first experiments with this system about 10 years ago. Since then, such electronics began to appear in Toyota, Opel, Ford and Kia models.
The thing is that the system with the help of radars built into the car body can estimate the place your car needs for parking. It can be either entering garage or parallel parking – this is exactly what many drivers have the most difficulties with.
Thanks to the use of electronic accelerator and brake pedal, as well as an electric motor integrated in the steering system, the driver only needs to choose the place he likes and press the autopilot button. After that, the car itself will steer and press pedals – you will only need to switch the automatic transmission to ‘Drive’ mode.