Hyundai is looking to the future. As part of its long-term Project Ioniq, which looks to the future of how we live and get around, it’s been exploring how our senses connect with the emotional experience of driving.
If that all sounds a bit complex, read on to see how Hyundai, along with a selection of “innovators”, predicts how driving might change in the future, based all around our senses. Who knows, your future i40 company car could feature some of this technology…
We’ll be making our own sweets on the move
Gone are the days of packets of journey-friendly in-car sweets. A company called Candy Mechanics has developed 3D printing technology to print food on the go. That means they think you could personalise in-car sweets depending on your mood by using a 3D printer potentially located in the boot of your car.
It’s some way off being an optional extra in the back of a Tucson, but much more appealing than delving into an old pot of chewing gum or packet of boiled sweets at the back of the glovebox.
Cars will suggest music playlists based on our mood
We all have our preferences when it comes to what we listen to in the car, but music streaming specialist Spotify has pulled together data from its users’ profiles to collate the ultimate driving playlist.
That’s nothing new or surprising, but the future could hold wearable technology (which is already out there on sale – think fitness) that can pick up on the driver’s mood and emotions and then make suggestions for music to listen to.
For example, if it’s picking up that you’re stressed, it could suggest more calming music and so on. This could be a handy piece of kit for future company car drivers who deal with stressful driving conditions on a regular basis. It might even improve road safety, too – so long as it doesn’t play automatically…
Choosing in-car scents at the touch of a button
We’ve all been there – choosing which air freshener to put in our car, but what if smells can automatically adapt to the driver’s mood? According to perfumer Sarah McCartney, different smells invoke memories and feelings in us and she has developed a couple of scents that are supposedly ideal for driving.
In the future we might be able to choose a scent to come through the vents at the flick of a switch. This kind of tech might not be too far away – different smells that can be pumped through a car’s vents are already out there in mainstream cars.
High-tech fabrics that help the environment
Company car drivers spend a lot of time behind the wheel, that’s nothing new. So, the materials used in a good company car need to be up to scratch. Seat fabrics and other materials in the car are set to become much techier, if Hyundai’s prediction is anything to go by – a suit that features GPS tracking, a WiFi hotspot and a music library, while the seat of the future could clean the air around it thanks to advanced “cold plasma” technology.
By being a “connected” seat – similar to that of the wearable technology already mentioned – it could also monitor the body and automatically tweak a car’s settings like the heating and air-con. It points to our cars doing pretty much everything for us in the future.
The ultimate driving road filmed with drones
In a move that’s less focused on functionality and more as a bit of fun, the popularity of drones is leading towards a user forum collating the best driving roads in the UK.
Personal users will be able to upload their own drone footage to a central database and share with other enthusiasts, building up a community of car and drone enthusiasts to provide an ultimate list of driving roads. Not quite ideal for a company car driver, but something that’s a bit of fun nonetheless, or useful if you want to take the scenic route back to the office.
When can we expect this tech to be in our company cars?
It’s very hard to tell – a lot of the technology being honed by the “innovators” is in its infancy. Plus, Hyundai’s Project Ioniq research venture is currently just predicting future car industry trends due by 2030, so at the minute much of it could be taken with a pinch of salt.
The interesting point about the technology here is that it’s all being created with a vision to be integrated into future cars, so it’s not an impossibility that it’ll be more widespread in a couple of decades, potentially making life much easier for company car drivers on the road.
For now, take a look at this futuristic content:
Logitech ZeroTouch handsfree system tested
Why the Hyundai Ioniq could save company car drivers tax and fuel bills
