Autonomous cars used to be something we only dreamed about, much like jetpacks and robotic butlers. They have come to fruition within the last decade in various stages of assisted technology. Fully autonomous cars have yet to become mainstream due to affordability and continued testing. There are many debates about the advantages and disadvantages of this type of technology. To date, the benefits seem to be significant.

Fewer accidents have occurred with autonomous vehicles at the helm. The reason is that human beings are fallible by nature. They are prone to distraction and emotions. In addition, a human’s reflex capabilities are not as efficient as a machine’s. With spatial technology, automated vehicles can also determine the correct distance to maintain, enabling quicker reaction time if the car ahead stops abruptly or a lane change occurs. 

Traffic jams are also decreased when driverless cars are used. There have been multiple studies done on test roads with platooning exercises, displaying how automated cars fall in line with a generous space cushion between them, eliminating the ebb and regular traffic flow. Sensors allow for on-ramp entry of vehicles by making space without impeding traffic flow, in addition to recognizing construction and detours in real-time. Rubbernecking will be a thing of the past because the machine will not have the human curiosity of distraction. Shockwave jams caused by drivers tapping on their breaks and creating a daisy-chain effect will also be obsolete.

Stress-free parking is another way that autonomous vehicles will help improve our daily lives. People can be dropped off and collected at a chosen location while the car seeks out a vacant parking spot in-between. This cuts down on fuel usage and the stress that comes from being late for appointments.

As humans evolve to completely autonomous travel, they will also discover newly-found spare time to get things done, much like train or air travel. This time can be used either for work or family, without the worry of safety along the way.

Safety and accessibility is something that AI-controlled cars can bring to all Americans. There are substantial numbers of elderly and invalided citizens who cannot provide their own means of transportation. For them, automated driving will not only be a life-saver, but it will also add dignity by providing them with a sense of independence and comfort. 

Artificial intelligence has been in the public eye since the late 1990s. That was the moment IBM’s Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a grand-master chess champion. In 2011, many people watched the Jeopardy! episode featuring the question-answer system Watson as it beat two former champions. With all of the discoveries made since then, machine learning has helped nearly every industry on earth evolve. One of the top ways AI has served us is by helping us to be safer on the roads.

Even the safest drivers in the world are not perfect. Humans are fallible by nature, and we do not possess the reaction time of a machine. Because of this, the luxury of machine assistance elevates our abilities to not only keep ourselves safe but also those around us. We already have some car technology that does a beautiful job of this by warning us about our proximity to other drivers or objects, whether on the move or trying to park. Smart headlights help reduce dangerous situations by adjusting to the conditions in real-time. On-board diagnostics can alert us to a problem before it becomes a more serious issue, thereby saving us money and keeping us out of harm’s way.

Smart cars of today not only have sensors giving a 360-degree view outside the vehicle, but they can also monitor a driver’s body position from within the car. If a vehicle senses the driver is leaning due to sleepiness, intoxication, or a medical issue, it can alert the driver with a warning signal. OnStar systems can also be called in an emergency, and some cars make it a hands-free option.

As cars become smarter with more advanced AI systems, there will be fewer overall road accidents. The combination of artificial intelligence and the speed and distance of 5G’s reach will enable civil engineers and traffic planners to create more efficient roads from an abundance of real-time data. Traffic lights will be automated to satisfy the current traffic flow, cutting down on the risk of accidents. As more cars become fully automated, they will join the collective device-to-device communication knowing the optimal distance length and speed to avoid collisions. 

For drivers and residents, that means maximizing efficiency while also having fewer cars sitting idly in traffic, which means less pollution for the area. From a broader, public safety perspective, it means fewer road incidents to free up emergency road access, in addition to a generally safer mode of transportation.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) owns and produces the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Each year, the latest and greatest technological innovations are shown to an awaiting public. The automobile industry is full of new ideas and enhancements on existing ideas, mostly centered around human safety and environmental conservation. Technology is even being incorporated long before cars leave the factory floor. Robots have begun assisting humans by working alongside them in the manufacturing sector. 

The world of technology is driven by a desire for CASE mobility: connected, autonomous, shared and electrified vehicles. This is an area that is constantly evolving. One on-going topic is the subject of self-driving cars. Autonomous taxi services will exist in the future, and companies like Waymo are moving closer than ever to perfecting safety, navigation and ride-sharing.

Much of the excitement and investment in the auto industry has turned to electrification, with some car companies claiming that in the coming years, a large percentage of their fleets will be electric vehicles or hybrid cars. The promise of cleaner air and lower carbon footprints has made electrification enticing. The industry still has a lot to work through, however, including placing more charging solutions in both cities and more rural areas.

AI-powered cockpits are going to be able to detect and protect drivers through facial recognition and palm print recognition . These will help personalize the driver and passenger experience through the same central panel, and a 3D multi-panel display and biometric-interactive system will allow the driver to control devices and see the car functions through head tilts and smiles. As 5G becomes more available, more services will become available as well to enhance the passenger experience. Some cars will come standard with connected subscriptions and infotainment packages, for example.

For people who want to have Alexa in their car alongside the Siri and Google Assistant crowds, Amazon now has Echo Audio available for in-car commands. Far-field speech recognition makes it possible for the device to recognize natural language in a noisy environment by using an eight-microphone arrangement. Passengers can check the news, weather, manage calendar events or make phone calls, all hands-free. They can even stream content from all the mainstream sources. Dashcams have been giving people peace of mind for several years. The latest iterations of this technology will offer wide-angle high-definition and be able to record and save footage if it detects an accident has occurred. Even the connection is unique, opting for a dedicated Wi-Fi to allow drivers to view a live-feed of the camera, as well as adjust settings and download or share footage. 

Just like many other industries, artificial intelligence is making a huge change in the way we look at cars. Not just in the private sector, but also as a newly-emerging competitor for taxi and delivery services, especially when it comes to self-driving autonomous vehicles. Contrary to popular belief, the definition of an autonomous car really falls within a spectrum of definitions, depending on the level of machine/human collaboration. At its most basic, there is automation for driver assistance. This is when a system merely assists the driver’s motions but does not control anything itself. An example of driving assistance would be parking sensors. At the more advanced levels, the car and the human would each take turns controlling the car. This is something that used to feel like science fiction but is now a reality.

Self-driving cars increase the amount of power given to an artificially intelligent system, as opposed to relying solely on a human component. Sensors are a big part of the equation when it comes to self-driving cars. The system gets most of its input from real-world data that is being rapidly accumulated from hundreds of sensors located all over the vehicle. In today’s day and age, there are different levels of data input and control. Looking at highly automated and fully automated, the key difference is that humans still run a highly automated system and they choose to hand over temporary control. A fully automated system, however, is one that is making the machine the primary user. The vehicle is solely system-based. A human’s presence is still needed, but they do not interfere with any functions. A completely automated car is one that requires no assistance whatsoever from a driver as it navigates from point A to point B. When people refer to a robocar, the vehicle has enough sensors to make decisions based on its environment in order to deliver passengers safely to their destination. 

In addition to removing the worry of control, AI is seeking to appeal to generations that no longer want the burden of ownership, either. Many millennials choose shared economies and the newer pay-to-play services such as streaming over DVD rentals, rideshares over car rentals, and city bikes over buying their own. Likewise, the concept of private automobile ownership will seem archaic within the next two decades. 

Today’s cars are getting more and more intelligent. This isn’t in reference to the machinery itself, but rather the artificial intelligence that’s being incorporated into it. Cars of the future will no longer just be a simple means of transport. They will work alongside the driver to promote maximum efficiency and safety. That being said, there are responsibilities that people will still have in order to let the cars evolve. We are still miles away from having a fully automated system in place for all standard, affordable vehicles. 

One technological advancement that has already saved many people from potential accidents is the concept of sensor technology. This is essentially like having an extra pair of eyes on the top and sides of your car that can compensate for human limitations such as blind spots. It can also alert a driver if other cars start drifting into their lane. Despite all of this assistance, however, it is still vital that the driver maintain a nonstop vigilant line of focus while driving. In addition, cars will have reverse camera technology on display in front of them. This will enable drivers to see what’s behind them as they are backing up.

Machine learning and vision assistance are hot button topics these days when discussing AI and the automobile industry.  One major cause of automobile death is distraction. This could be a sleepy truckdriver or a teenager texting and driving, but the result is the same. Some AI firms have developed a way of detecting when drivers lose focus, and it initiates a series of suggestions, ranging from suggesting a break to gradually slowing down the vehicle.

In a sense, partial automation has already existed for quite some time. Cruise control has been around since the late 1940s, and power steering since the 1960s. Both of these features still require alertness frmo the driver and an instant ability to retake control if necessary.

One major caveat to technology is the learning curve. A driver is the worst person to ask to participate in a focus group to relearn a formerly simple task like changing A/C controls. Once technology itself ends up being the distraction, the message is lost. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a faraway concept being speculated about in futuristic stories. Smart machines and computer learning are very real concepts that are already interwoven with many aspects of our daily lives. While some people still fear the unknown future of relinquishing control to emotionless entities, there are some tasks for which logic-based decision making is perfectly designed. 

People who have the luxury of amassing jewelry often have to consult an expert to analyze the value of a gem, such as a diamond. There are many factors to take into account, such as the four C’s: carat, cut, clarity, and color. The average eye, even with the right magnifying tools, can’t always be perfect. This is where artificial intelligence comes in. ROSI is the world’s first digital gemologist and it uses a very special system called Watson. Developed at IBM research labs, Watson is a question-answering computer system that is capable of understanding and answering questions posed in natural language. This means it can converse with humans. In addition to using this tool, ROSI incorporates a proprietary algorithm to analyze millions of diamonds worldwide within seconds. The center diamond is then chosen based on millions of calculations and ultimately the multi-dimensional analysis tool is used to offer the best result at the maximum value.

Auto insurance is something that is inevitable for any driver, but the costs can change, depending on certain factors. There are still costly matters that rely on people’s perceptions, such as claims, and it’s often one person’s word against another’s. In addition, many auto insurance providers have to deal with fraudulent claims that lead to lost revenue. Artificial intelligence is now being used to not only save drivers from needless premium increases, but it also prevents cases of fraud. AVA is Metromile’s automated claims assistant. This app can be used in the case of an incident without having to speak to a person. The opt-in sensor data can reconstruct the accident scene to determine where the fault lies and can lead to rapid collision damage compensation. 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is another way that AI is influencing our lives. Before this, our computers functioned through a human-to-computer connection. The interconnectedness of computers and digital machines means they now can use unique identifiers to transfer data without requiring humans at all.

Each year, millions of Americans make decisions about which insurance plans to sign up for. When it comes to insurance plans, there are many factors to consider. There are state-run and federally-run exchanges. Within these marketplaces are different plans such as HMOs, PPOs, EPOs, and POS. These determine what in-network means and how much you will be spending out-of-pocket. 

Contrary to popular belief, you need to force yourself to look beyond monthly premiums when comparing different insurance plans. Most people think that premiums are the only thing that matters and deductibles are associated with hypothetical emergency care. They take into account their age and the likelihood of disease or an accident. The truth is that deductibles are a very real fact of life that needs to be taken seriously. In addition to deductibles, co-payments and prescriptions can also add up. Everything needs to be taken into account when deciding on a plan.

Keeping in mind all of the unknowns about the future, experts recommend that you should use what you currently know about your health needs as a base point. If you have a doctor you like, for example, then it’s important to choose a plan that keeps him in-network. Likewise, if you tend to use a certain prescription drug by name, look for a plan that covers them. One of the benefits of searching HealthCare.gov allows you to add your provider and your prescription drugs as you browse plans to see whether they’re covered. A tool available on HealthCare.gov acts as an estimator for yearly costs, based on a number of factors, including a plan’s deductible, copays for doctor’s visits and specialists, and how often you anticipate visiting the doctor in the coming year.

When you search for health insurance on the internet, you may stumble on short term plans that advertise much lower monthly premiums, but don’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). If something looks too good to be true, it most definitely is. You could be missing out on important coverage like prenatal and mental health treatment. A new tool this year has been added to help potential customers find the perfect match without being scammed. Following the methodology of Yelp and Amazon, people can read reviews and look at a star rating system to see which plans to avoid.