Pictures of the Future      Fall 2005

High-Gear Grandma

Will you drive grandma home?" asks Robert’s father after dinner. "You can take her in my car." Robert beams. It’s been only two months since he passed his driver’s test, and his father has already offered him his new car. "Do you trust me behind the wheel?" he asks his grandma. "Don’t you worry. I’ve survived plenty of rough rides in my time!" replies the 82-year-old woman.

Once in the car, Robert makes himself comfortable behind the wheel. "Please fasten your seat belts," an authoritative voice says, sounding like the pilot of a jumbo jet. His grandmother looks on in astonishment at the shimmering screen in front of her. "That’s an OLED display," explains Robert. "It’s just plastic. But you can watch a movie on it or surf the net." He presses a button to activate the hybrid engine. "Won’t it start?" asks grandma, squinting at the silence. "Sure. It started just fine. But there’s nothing to hear. With this system—some kind of electro-hybrid—the diesel engine only kicks in later. And when I say diesel, I mean GTL diesel—you know, gas-to-liquid. It’s one of those super-clean designer fuels." Robert switches on the navigation system. "Welcome to NavPal," the captain’s voice intones followed by a brisk jingle. "Ya, sure," says Robert. "Anyway, this new system can recognize more than 100,000 words. And even if you’re listening to loud music, it will still understand you, because it can read your lips thanks to a mini camera installed in the rearview display." Robert uses voice commands to set the destination and customize their route. That’s because he wants to avoid the way through town, even though the toll is cheaper at this time of night. Robert wants to take the highway. "Where are the side mirrors?" asks grandma. "It doesn’t have any. There are cameras instead. They show you what’s going on behind the car and at the sides—look, here, on the dashboard display. And there aren’t any blind spots, either." By now, they have left the residential area and are heading for the highway.

"This is about the most high-tech thing on four wheels you can imagine. And the best thing of all is that it’s practically impossible to crash it!" "Now, steady. You just be careful," grandma replies. "No, really! Look, it’s got all these cameras as well as radar, laser and infrared sensors, which permanently monitor whatever’s happening around the car. And the software’s so cool that it can tell when something’s not right. If I turn the wheel to change lanes and there’s a car right behind me that I haven’t seen, then the steering column vibrates. Or say I happen to overlook a stoplight, the system will warn me and even apply the brakes if I don’t react. And if worse comes to worst and a tree comes down right in front of us, air bags inflate like...." "When I was your age," interrupts grandma, "we didn’t even have seat belts."

There’s a lot of traffic on the road. Robert asks for information from the local traffic management service. Although they’re recommending a speed of 55 miles per hour, the traffic keeps bunching and grinding to a halt. After a while, he activates the ACC system, which automatically maintains a constant distance from the vehicle in front—even when going around curves—and automatically takes control of the accelerator and brakes. "That’s better," he says with a sigh. By now, Grandma is getting acquainted with the OLED touchscreen. "Where do I get Fox News?" she say. "I want to know what the weather situation will be like tomorrow." "Easy," says Robert. "Just say it, and you’ll get it!" Her voice is new to the system but gets a quick response "Weather Web activated!" proclaims the captain’s voice as a crisp image appears on the display. "Storms in the west. And now for your three-day local..." A graphic shows predicted weather conditions within a 200 mile radius of the car’s position. Grandma nods knowingly and calls her home automation platform to ensure that it is synchronized with local weather conditions.

The traffic thins as Robert leaves the highway. Now’s his big chance to put the engine to the test, and he presses down heavily on the gas pedal. "Not bad," he whistles, as the booster from the electric motor kicks in on top of the diesel engine. The road enters a patch of woodland. "Aren’t you driving a little fast, dear?" asks Grandma and points at the windshield. A flashing red "55 miles per hour" shows the current speed limit, contrasting it with the vehicle’s actual speed: 65 miles per hour. "It’s a shame there isn’t an electronic system to slow kids down!" says Grandma pointedly. "Okay," says Robert and eases off the gas. "It’s still the driver who’s responsible. That way, no one can claim that some electronic system caused an accident. But driving’s no fun if you can’t put your foot to the floor once in a while!"

He suddenly taps the brakes. "What now?" asks Grandma. "There’s a deer on the roadside up ahead." "A deer! I can’t see a thing," she replies. "That’s because it’s too far away. Look, the night-sight system tells me where it is, but that’s still a good 150 meters away." As the car approaches, Robert and grandma can see the deer turn and trot off into the woods. Robert accelerates again. "Shame there’s no fog," he says. "That would give me a chance to try out the night vision system."

All of a sudden there’s a loud bumping noise, and a warning light flashes. Robert pulls to a halt and gets out. "Oh, no!" he says. A piece of metal is stuck into a very flat tire. "Why on earth didn’t dad get the nanofoam tires? They’d have handled that, no problem. By this time, Grandma has come to take a look herself. "What seems to be the problem, young man?" she asks. Robert looks down at the tire. "We’re stuck. Since it’s not a software problem, our remote service contract won’t help. We’ll just have to flag someone down..." Grandma goes to the trunk. "Isn’t there a spare?" she asks. "Sure. But..." Robert trails off. "I think I can manage this," says Grandma with a grin. "Just hand me that jack…"
                                                                                               Norbert Aschenbrenner