Sure, the title of the article must have shocked you for a moment. Mixing drinks with drive is a certain way to get penalized by police these days. But in the future, you can be safely snuggled inside your car, either already high or socializing with friends over alcohol. And not for a moment do I mean that driving will be unsafe in the future. Also, I don’t intend to say there will be no traffic rules going ahead. But what will still make all of it possible will be Level 5 autonomous cars.
In the present age, we have reached Level 3 automotive vehicles (AVs) in which the AI and ML system can control the car autonomously, but need a human to take control for crisis control. Yes, Advanced Driver Assistance System is deployed, and so is Traffic Jam Assist and Lane Keep Assist. But the driver is not free from duties.
However, the future holds a lot of promise for us. Imagine on a weekend evening, your kids are going out for a party with their friends. They hop inside the autonomous car and are welcomed by a realm illuminated with lights based on their mood. Along with light therapy, there is a provision for reclining on message chairs. As the wheels roll on the streets, you get a live update about the speed, location and health of the car. Parental supervision without intervention is ensured. Moreover, you can set the time of return for the car and can approve the route to be followed.
Your kids pick up their friends from their respective places. The car decides based on route optimization techniques which course to follow, following your approval. This ensures minimum usage of electricity in the battery-operated car. And soon, there is a gala time inside the vehicle. Light drinks, refrigerated food and aromatic candles make the atmosphere luxuriant. There is absolutely zero concern of drunk driving, since the car is very much in its senses.
The sensors inside the car rely on facial image processing, olfactory receptors and heat & temperature analysis along with a deluge of other information to continuously monitor the state of the passengers. Any untoward condition will lead to instant action for situation control. Through the transparent rooftop, the gang of friends cherish the night sky and revel under the glow of city lights. To add to the fervor, disco lights inside the car land passengers in a party mode.
And without creating any ruckus on the road, the car eventually brings all passengers to their homes as the party night gets over. Did you notice something? The entire party happened inside the confines of the car. That’s how the cars will change from just a machine of commute to a full-fledged ecosystem where we will thrive. AVs will not take us to a party place, it will be ‘the party place’ for us.
Currently, there is a long way to go before we can have Level 5 autonomous vehicles plying reliably on the roads. There are a number of challenges, ranging from management of a flood of data every instant to understanding the rapid fluctuations in weather and traffic conditions. Radar interference is also quite a big concern at present.
No wonder, it will take time for Level 5 autonomous cars to arrive in the market. But once they do, the way we live, we interact and we spend our days will change forever. We will have cars not as vehicles, but as extension of living places. They will be our extended homes, extended bars, extended offices, extended clubhouse and everything else that our imagination can paint. It will be a new ecosystem in which our humankind shall thrive.
A delightful world on the wheels, always rolling ahead with consistency and trust. Just like our humankind.
