People who’ve seen a Tesla will tell you about the “massive” touchscreen in the centre console, angled toward the driver.
Not only is the clarity of the same as a quality tablet – and thus way ahead of most production cars – it’s the screen’s 17in size that’s striking.
But this partly misses the point. It’s what’s behind the screen that’s important. The Tesla, to use the jargon, is a ‘connected vehicle’.
During a demonstration drive on the M6 with the Tesla X P9OD in self-driving mode, ‘piloted’ by uTrack CEO Eamonn Hughes, it’s clear that the technology is here and it works. That the car is electric and has many clever design touches, almost goes without saying.
There’s has a direct link to bus operation, explains Eamonn. Technology is here for a driver to have a tablet-sized device, rather than a fixed ticket machine, with readers for cashless operation. The connected bus communicates, via the Cloud, stacks of data including where it is and how fast it’s going. Meanwhile data flows back, including that big-bug bear: Congestion.
Crucially, the system could replace human control centres and display information to the driver, telling them what speed to drive at, what’s happening ahead, and if the route allows it, any diversions. Passengers also get genuine real-time data via an app.
This is only the tip of the iceberg and Eamonn will explain more in a regular series of articles in routeone.
This isn’t all stuff of the future. It’s here now. The only constraint is the industry’s thinking. That’s where the big change needs to come.
