It is very difficult to answer the question about the future appearance of the car in 25 years. During this period, according to experts, it will remain a vehicle with a steering wheel. And only engineers and designers of leading firms know about everything else.
1. What engine will be in the car of the future?
According to Ricardo's head of innovation, by 2040 most cars will be "electrified." Engine internal combustion will no longer play the main, exclusive role in the drive of the car. His task will be to support the electric motor. The engine is likely to be smaller, turbocharged or electric boost and become more efficient.
Promising are Stirling engines, split-cycle engines, and multi-fuel engines.
2. Will hydrogen cars develop?
For the past two decades, the world has been embraced by the idea of hydrogen-powered electric vehicles. fuel cells. They provide high efficiency and environmental performance of the vehicle.
According to experts, if the infrastructure of the hydrogen business model works, automakers will become more serious about hydrogen transport and by 2040 there will already be tens of millions of hydrogen cars.
Specialists place their main bets on the leaders in the industry: Toyota, Honda and Hyundai.
3. Will petrol and diesel remain the main fuels?
Fifteen years ago, oil industry experts warned that by 2040, it would become very expensive to extract oil, and some oil sources would dry up. Today the information is not the table is pessimistic.
According to various organizations, oil and gas reserves in the world range from catastrophically small to very large. But it is obvious that in soon gasoline and diesel fuel remain the main fuels. Alcohol and gas derived from plants and biomass will also be used.
4. What tires will the cars have?
To obtain information about the condition of the tire, pressure, degree of wear, it is necessary to read data from the sensors on the wheel.
After this stage is reached, the cars will be able to exchange information about the state pavement and temperature with other vehicles using the V2V communication system. Adaptive good year tires TripleTube can change its shape depending on road conditions and features of use. On wet roads the pressure will increase to create a longer contact patch for better hydroplaning resistance.
Such a system greatly improves driving safety, especially when using anti-lock braking system ABS.
5. How to improve electric cars?
The main stumbling blocks of any electric car battery are time and charge level. By 2040, thanks to the use of new cobalt batteries, cars will be able to travel up to 800 kilometers on a single charge, and be charged to 75% in just 15 minutes.
6. Who or what will drive the car?
Will we be driving the cars of the future or will they drive themselves? It is likely that both options will be combined, and today all major manufacturers are working on cars with autopilot.
By 2020 on serial machines there will be functions automatic parking and autonomous driving in the highway lane.
By 2040, cars will be fully autonomous, for example, to call a car remotely, or to travel long distances.
7. What will change inside the cabin?
The next step in creating the next generation of car interiors is to combine information and entertainment tools.
BMW is already developing a cockpit of the future that includes a large screen spanning almost the entire width of the car. The system is fully autonomous driving ready, allowing drivers to receive video calls when the vehicle is in self-driving mode and demonstrate essential information when the driver gets into the car.
Next step: let the driver personalize the interior by choosing themes for dashboard and even load different fixture styles. The first versions of this personification are already available on the Mercedes-Benz E-class.
8. Will high-tech interiors distract drivers?
Clicking on touch screen will soon become old fashioned. The next step in the car's infotainment systems will be gesture control. The driver's movements will be monitored by internal cameras, so the car will know if he wants to open a window or lower the temperature. In addition, this technology allows the vehicle to recognize the approach of the driver and automatically open the door for him.
9. What will the cars be made of?
In 25 years, cars are expected to be built using a wider range of lightweight materials than today. Even motors and gearboxes can be partly made of plastic, resulting in significant weight savings.
Light steels, aluminium, carbon fibre, plastics and some biomaterials such as flax are likely to form the core structure of the 2040 car. If the production of carbon fiber continues to develop at the current pace, then its price will drop by 80%.
10. How will the car be introduced into the city system?
The idea is simple: the Internet connects cars to city systems to make big cities more efficient. The simplest example: the roadway is illuminated only when traffic is moving along the street, and electricity is saved the rest of the time. City system can regulate the distribution of city flows, determine the availability of parking spaces and report this information to drivers. Similar pilot areas already exist in London.
The car of the future will depend heavily on technology that will make it much more city-friendly. New models launched in 2020 will already be equipped with the described technology.
11. How will electric vehicles be charged in 25 years?
Electric vehicles and hybrids will be easier to use thanks to the presence of wireless charging, where you don't even need to connect a cable to the car.
Wireless charging works on the principle of "magnetic resonance" at a distance of up to 20 centimeters. You can install charging power lines directly on the road surface.
12. What will the cars of the future look like?
As for appearance, the best car companies in the world are constantly experimenting with finding new solutions, creating more and more new ones.
The concepts of modern man about the car of the future are somewhat distorted due to a large amount of science fiction. Each of us at least once tried to imagine the cars of the future. In most people's minds, next generation cars will be flying and electronically controlled. A modern vehicle manufacturer has its own idea of what an innovative car will be like.
Consider what changes will affect the automotive industry and what will be the car of the new era.
Modern vehicle manufacturers are constantly upgrading their products, focusing on great attention parameters such as:
- Efficiency. New vehicles are more fuel efficient than older vehicles. Thus, it can be assumed that the cars of the new era will have a minimum consumption fuel mixture. It is also possible that innovative transport will operate on alternative source fuel. Most likely, alternative fuel will be of natural origin.
- Power. Due to the development of the automotive industry, new cars are equipped with more and more powerful engines. This means that cars new era will have incredible power for maximum human mobility.
- Sustainability.Modern vehicle manufacturers are increasingly working on the environmental friendliness of their products. Over time, we strive to ensure that the vehicle does not affect the natural environment.
- Security.Security is one of the most important parameters vehicle. Today, safety is still one of the characteristics of a complete set of cars. As modern auto experts suggest, achieving complete security participants traffic only possible when driving the vehicle electronically. It is possible that in the future machines will have fully automatic control.
More realistically, the new generation vehicle will have an alternative engine.
To date, vehicle manufacturers are considering two options for upgrading internal combustion engines:
1. Electric motor. This type the motor system implies small dimensions and power from a conventional home network. The undoubted advantage of an electric motor over a gasoline analogue is high level environmental friendliness.
2. Propulsion system operating on hydrogen. As scientists suggest, in the future, the production of hydrogen will become profitable for using it as a fuel.
Also, about the new generation engine, we can say that it will be more economical and at the same time powerful. It is possible that the propulsion system will completely disappear from the vehicle and innovative transport will function with the help of solar energy or another source, since all manufacturers are striving for a more environmentally friendly car.
The automotive industry of the future is predicted to be divided into two categories, the production of urban vehicles and sports cars. Presumably, the city car will have a small size, which will make driving in the city more comfortable. Also, the management of a city car will become fully automatic.
It is rather difficult to present a final picture of a new generation of transport. However, following the main points modern manufacturers cars you can see in which direction the automotive industry is moving. If we compare modern transport with previously produced counterparts, we can note the rapid movement of developers and technologies.
Forecast from former BMW chief designer Chris Bangle and MIA Electric chief designer Murat Gunak.
In July, the main Russian exhibition of this year, INNOMPROM-2014, was held in Yekaterinburg. As part of the event, many round tables, conferences and meetings took place. We visited one of them - the forecast session "Machines of the Future".
What will a person ride, fly and swim on, will the transport of the future be able to refute the laws of physics, what are the chances of alternative engines and unmanned vehicles What place will robots take in our lives? The answers to all these questions are in our material.
Chris Bangle, chief designer BMW (1992-2009), head of design at Chris Bangle Associated.
In his opinion, the future belongs to digital technologies and robots. Electric cars are just a transitional stage. Chris is betting on unmanned vehicles and declares that the time is not far off when cars will be more comfortable to exist without people. Here is what he says about it:
What will the cars of the future look like? Why is this so important to us?
In general, a car is a fantastic concept that will exist for centuries. Electric vehicles are an absolutely clean field of activity. But I don't think they are the future. In my opinion, unmanned vehicles have much more advantages: safety, convenience. If they appear, we will never have a second generation of drivers. Because if the father has a self-driving car, it makes no sense for children to receive driver's license. The appearance of such cars will be the death of the auto industry, despite the fact that by then it will most likely have reached the peak of its technical advances.
The cars of the future must be needed by people. It doesn't matter if it's an electric car or a car running on hydrocarbons. Now they are too complex, expensive, and do not perform all the functions that are required of them. When creating cars of the future, it is important to understand that they must be relevant, people must want to buy them.
Drone from Google.
The world of cars is in a stage of rebirth and transition. Today, not the one who is driving is having fun, but the passenger in the next seat. If the vehicle drives itself, people don't care what it looks like. In America, young people do not appreciate cars as much as their parents, the car loses its cultural significance. I think it will be very cool if the motors themselves will run through the streets, and, for sure, this will solve some problems, but at the same time create new ones.
Nowadays, people change cars like gloves. For what? While working on refrigerator projects, we found out that these units are replaced every 12 years. Why does it take this long to replace a refrigerator? No one knows. We went and asked. As it turned out, people are afraid to defrost, wash and clean their old refrigerator in order to put a new one in its place. Imagine if you had to clean out your garage in order to buy a car? Then no one would buy a car at all.
Car designers do not do their job well enough, do not look at the human side of the world when creating them. They are mesmerized technical capabilities and think it's enough. Our task is to make people's lives much better and more convenient.
As for robots, the volume of robotics in the world is this moment is 25 billion dollars. And this is less than the global postcard market. If we want robots to do better, more, differently, we must ask ourselves the question “Why do we need all this?” If we ask ourselves this question, we will find right way development.
Perhaps soon there will be robots that will represent entire brands in the future. And people will want to have cars nearby, which we will take care of, with which we will feel good. Robots that we can use for very personal purposes: for example, as a friend, colleague.
In general, robots are the mega-industry of the future. Refrigerators have taken over 40 years to hit the market. dishwasher- 30 years. Cell phones - 15. I think that industries such as digital technologies, megatronics and robotics will have the fastest introduction of technologies to the market, they have the most best opportunities. The next Henry Ford will come not from the auto industry, but from the robot industry.
I see a world without people, a world of machines, where they will be better off without us. Therefore, our task is to return people to this loop.
All the achievements that are associated with artificial intelligence and reason are not yet noticeable, but behind them is the future. The machines will decide who surrounds them, not us.”
Murat Gunak, one of the world's leading specialists in electric vehicles, chief designer of MIA Electric I am sure that electric cars will take the place of our usual cars very soon. His team has created the first 100% electric car, which could be launched soon in mass production. In his opinion, this will be a breakthrough not only in mechanical engineering, but also in the entire world industry. And Russia has a good chance of becoming the leader in such production, which will strengthen the country's position on the world stage.
“I have a romantic view of the cars of the future.
Why did I become a car designer? When Picasso painted pictures, he was asked why he painted pictures the way he did? He wanted to show the movement of a person in one space. For me, the car is also always associated with constant movement.
Just think: horses for a long time were the only means of transportation, so we are still very closely associated with these animals, and we treat our cars in the same way as horses: wash, clean, give them a name. Auto has a very close emotional connection with a person, it is for him a "living" creature with character.
The job of a designer is to capture and understand those emotions and translate them into a product, to give people what they want. After all, a car is one of the most emotional products in the world. This is what will unite people, regardless of their nationality, religion and other things.
Russia is a very powerful industrial country. Perhaps the time has come today to enter the automotive market seriously and for a long time. After all, countries that have good cars, are regarded as very strong. It is very difficult for states that are weak in this sense to catch up with them. Electric vehicles open up new frontiers and give other countries a chance to enter this market.
Some states are already taking steps in this direction. I was born in Turkey and a few weeks ago the Turkish government launched a $100 million program. These funds will be spent on the creation of Turkish-made electric vehicles.
I know that Russian culture is different from European. But perhaps you will come to understand that big car is not a status indicator. Now the car is a sign of success. If you successful man, then you have big car black color. And, as I noticed, in your city (Yekaterinburg), it also has tinted windows. Great for a car owner reliable car is a reflection of his social status. If this does not change, then everything will remain as it is. And it doesn’t matter what designers and technicians come up with.
On the other hand, in Germany one who drives big car, is considered (especially by young people) as not a very smart person. Therefore, if the social aspect changes, people's needs will change. If the car ceases to be a sign of success and sexuality, people will also change. Perhaps owning a self-driving car will be more attractive. When that happens, there will be dramatic changes for the traditional auto industry. But for me, autonomous driving is absurd, the wrong direction of development. It takes a lot of time to prepare the roads for safe movement drones.
Prototype of a car balancing on two wheels from General Motors with a self-assembling motor. Quantity wheelsets can be increased. So, the eight-wheeled design will allow you to move at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour.
If we want to innovate in the automotive industry, we need to disrupt the way we think. One of the products that destroyed consciousness is the first car. Then it was not believed that a car could compete with a horse. But in the end, she gave freedom of movement.
IN last years I do not work with the car market, because I want to create new ways of transportation - mobile, which would conserve the resources of the planet. In addition, my goal is to create such products that would preserve the environment and nature.
I must say right away that electric vehicles, contrary to stereotypes, are not so energy-intensive: in Germany, there are about a million electric cars that travel 10 thousand kilometers a year, this is only 0.3 percent of energy consumption in the country, while Cell phones and computers spend up to ten percent.
Microbus by Mia Electric.
If we can switch from hydrocarbons to electricity, we will be more mobile. And factories will look different. A clean, environmentally friendly MIA Electra factory already exists in France and all products produced here are 80% recyclable.
In my opinion, the machines of the future should be breakthrough, destroying old ideas. It will be a new mobility that will change thinking, give people freedom. We are working on such projects. One of them is a bioelectric car, which is based on a combination of electrical and human energy. This new way mobility in the future, and it could completely change the way people think about mobility.
Today, the horse is still an object of desire. People love these animals, they ride them, they collect them. Maybe cars in the future will move into the category of things that will not be a means of transportation, but will become gadgets, fashion objects.
How do you imagine the cars of the future?
Such a car already wins in aerodynamics by halving the width. The off-road version will forget about aerodynamics altogether, as you won't have to drive fast. Energy loss due to air resistance increases in direct proportion with increasing speed. Therefore, a car at 50 km/h will have ¼ of the resistance of a car at 100 km/h and ⅛ of the resistance from similar car full width. High-speed (highway) vehicles will have to be as similar as possible to the “drop”, but urban transport may well be taller so that it is comfortable to sit and climb into it.
The most efficient and safest design would be a drop with rear-seated passengers, although many do not like to sit backwards. But in the case of a direct collision, this better position.
…electric
You don't care what your taxi drives, but company directors don't care, and for many reasons, the urban transport of the future must be electric. Reducing emissions from exhaust pipe, decrease general pollution, everything goes to this. The main disadvantage of switching to electricity will be downtime during charging. The passenger cares little; you will never see it. You can solve the problem by buying more cars, changing the battery, or occasionally recharging on the go during the day.
Electrical engine incredibly simple compared to current situation affairs. Such a car of the future will have far fewer moving parts compared to any petrol car. It will be easier to experiment with and easier to maintain. It has everything you need (and you don't need much). It works quietly and smoothly. As the cost of batteries falls, so will the level of anxiety and resentment about batteries.
…much easier (and cheaper)
Just like electric power unit has significantly fewer parts than gasoline, it will be easier and a car based on it. Despite the fact that more expensive and cheaper versions will appear, many things familiar to us from cars will disappear. "Box on wheels with a chair" for a short city trip will be best description.
Frame. Some customers will certainly need some styling, but in general the car body of the future will be simple. Perhaps just the door - the car will park with the door pointing in the right direction. If this tourist transport, possibly wide Windshield, but otherwise it will be easier and safer to have a segmented window.
A self-driving car (with LIDAR) won't need headlights, just small lights so other cars can see. He will not move along dark rural paths, only around the city. electric car no grille needed. There will be no trunk - things can be folded inside, and what should be folded there?
Yes, it will have attachment points for robotic sensors.
We may need side windows, which you will want to lower, and locks that you can control, but the windows will be much simpler. A side window without a door will be much easier to make.
Of course, no side mirrors and rear-view mirrors are needed. But it's already inside.
Interior. The seats can be spartan or luxurious, but they won't have to move much. When you are alone in the car, it is enough just to free up as much legroom as possible. luxury cars may include motors so you can recline, but since the trips will be short, these functions will simply be inconsequential, not needed. The armrests can be fixed.
You will need a place where you can store your belongings, such as drink holders and charging stations for your devices, and comfortable spot at your feet to put your bags there.
There will be a folding table, as well as a screen. For security reasons, there should be no mouse or keyboard ports (so you don't inadvertently break into the car), but a small embedded computer may well be. The screen will be enough so that you can transfer the picture from your device to it if you want to watch a video or work.
You don't need a glove compartment, because you won't be keeping things in this car. But maybe a small locker with useful materials that people need - towels, napkins, booklets, first aid kit.
Dashboard. What will not be on this dashboard is the control levers. They will disappear completely. You will use your own phone for entertainment and access to information, as well as to communicate with the car. There should be a small tablet that shows background information and allows you to take control in situations where the phone can no longer help.
While some standardization will be required, it would be nice to introduce a slot that could accept most phones and tablets to provide them wireless charging, shield connection and one-way data link from the vehicle. (For safety reasons, communication with the driving system of your phone will be limited). It is quite possible that the car will be able to offer better mobile coverage, since it will need a good data link, and therefore an antenna, too. On the other hand, you will new phone with better communication.
Perhaps the cars of the future will have emergency control for emergencies like a steering wheel or a joystick. It is unlikely that you will be allowed to accelerate with this control, just in case, you never know. Cars that will leave the city can be equipped with additional funds controls for driving dirty roads or out of range.
How about cool speaker system? Well, people will certainly want to listen to music and watch videos in cars, and electric motors will be much less noisy. On the other hand, good headphones can solve all the problems, it remains to add a small subwoofer or vibration elements to the chair. This will be easy to do.
In the most budget cars there will be none of this - no screen, no headphones - and still they will perform their task. After all, you will not be stuck in traffic for hours - 15 minutes a day will be enough. You won’t even have time to watch an episode of your favorite TV series.
Climate. We want climate control, but robot taxis offer interesting alternatives. The heat will certainly come from the battery cooling system, but cooling, for example, can be made much easier. Pre-loaded ice or other coolant is enough to keep the vehicle cold for an hour or two. Then fall asleep again. Due to short trips, you will not know at all how this magic is done, but this option can be better than conditioner sucking out the battery.
Small electric taxis can be given permission to enter buildings so that you get in and out of the car in climate-controlled areas, which in turn reduces the need for a powerful climate control system inside the car.
Drive systems. The car will lose items such as pedals or steering column but some legacy will remain. You will need two redundant steering systems and two redundant brake systems because if one fails, no one can fix it. You will also need sensors and computers for self-management.
The suspension will also change. In cars more expensive suspension it will be better, but in general - who needs it? Who needs a smooth road if you spend 15 minutes a day on it? And since you won't be holding onto the steering wheel, you won't even notice the shaking.
General picture. The city car of the future will be simpler and smaller, with fewer moving parts and very different from the cars we are used to. It will be light, electric and efficient.
Simpler, smaller and easier turn into cheaper. Much cheaper. When a set of computers and sensors drops to $1,000 and batteries drop to $150 per kWh, such a car will become much cheaper. traditional machines.
Cheaper to make, cheaper to sell. A ride in such a car can be cheaper than a taxi ride today. Billions of people forced to walk or use city transport will have access to the transport of the future: an inexpensive and nimble city car.
Many imagine what the car of the future will be like - how to change appearance and who will manage it: a person or electronics. Let's take a look at the machine of our time and suppose what will happen to it in 20-30-50 years.
Main trends
The pursuit of economy modern engines significantly less fuel consumption than the engines of yesteryear. This means that in the future the cost of fuel for the car will be reduced or a new source of fuel will be developed. It will become naturally occurring, such as biodiesel."Zero harmful emissions, zero fatal accidents"- under such a motto should be the car of the future. On the way to this, there is a person behind the wheel, and the task of engineers is to transfer control of the electronics. This is the only way to achieve your goals.
Engines are already becoming more economical and powerful enough. Voracious engines are being replaced by compact units of small displacement, but with sufficient power. There will be no such thing as an internal combustion engine running on petroleum fuel. Diesel will go first. The first steps towards its exclusion are already visible in the developed countries of Europe. Demand for it is falling, manufacturers exclude diesel from production program. German manufacturers have signed an agreement to completely eliminate the production of traditional motors by 2050. Japanese companies are not so optimistic, and say that no earlier than 2060 cars will be freed from oil dependence.
Environmental friendliness– the car must not pollute environment. This is one of the main rules of the vehicle of the future and this trend can be traced from year to year.
"Driving will become safer, greener, more efficient and more fun," say leading car manufacturers. According to them, while driving, you can remove the steering wheel, check your mail and sit on social networks. The concept of unmanned traffic is a priority in the coming years.
There are two options:
- Electric motor - will be powered by a regular electrical outlet or through special charging stations.
- Hydrogen engine - in a few decades, the production of hydrogen will become cheap, and therefore profitable for most motorists.
The interior of the car of the future is not in the usual sense. In standalone mode, the controls can be hidden in the depths of the front panel, and then the interior of the car turns into a cabin with one large sofa and a holographic projector in the center.
The driver will have a large number of electronic assistants. Will not stay in the car mechanical parts Everything will be replaced by electronics and wired communications. The computer will follow technical condition auto and traffic situation. Electronics will have more control rights than the driver. Then the person only needs to set the route, and the car itself will take you to your destination.
Downsizing and good streamlining- there are more and more cars, and the road space is not increasing. Small cars are already popular. By the way, there is an opposite trend, namely an increase overall dimensions. Associated with increased safety and improved comfort. When humanity moves to drones, then such security will be redundant. In a few decades, the vehicle will resemble a capsule, inside which you can fence yourself off from outside world and do your thing.
The city car will be designed to travel around the city, have a compact form. The main advantage is its small dimensions, so that it takes up less space on the road and the ability to control without driver assistance. We'll see in the future automatic system management. The car enthusiast needs to indicate the end point of the trip and the car will take you to Right place and park himself.
The design will undergo a number of significant changes. “Mobile design” will be relevant when the appearance is modified depending on the specific situation. In the future, the car will be divided into two types: urban for daily trips and Sport Car on weekend.
The sports car will remain original, large sizes and will become vehicle day off. Beyond the system automatic control they will get forgotten manual control with pedals and a steering wheel. This will be done so that the motorist can nostalgic for the past and take control. This car will be a pleasure to drive.
conclusions
If the robot starts driving the car, then there is no pleasure from driving. With such success can sit in public transport where someone is taking you. For example, the Japanese are developing drones and gradually introducing self-governing functions. For example, control remains with the driver, but in some situations it is possible to transfer control to the car. Great for traffic or highway driving. The cruise control mode resembles the idea of a drone, but it will be expanded, the car will not only slow down and accelerate itself, but also change lanes.If there are drones, then in Europe, where there is a good infrastructure and everything is automated. If the marking is applied crookedly, this may cause a malfunction. Not to mention potholes, meaningless signs. So we will not see unmanned vehicles in Russia for a very long time!
Video - concepts of the future
Maybe the car will change in the future, but one thing can be said - the steering wheel and four wheels will remain. How do you see the car of the future?
