Top 5 Technologies in Cars in 2015

Invisible car technology isn't just reserved for fancy cars driven by super spies. It has some truly fantastic uses in the field of safety as well. British manufacturer Land Rover has recently revealed its Transparent Bonnet virtual imaging concept which renders the bonnet of the car invisible. This provides full visibility of what lies underneath and directly in front of the car. Cameras located in the front grille send a live feed to a Heads-Up Display which in effect, allows the driver to see through the car's hood. This concept technology will find its way onto the Land Rover Discovery Vision Concept which is expected to be showcased at the New York International Motor Show.

Approaching an intersection is another situation that requires technological help as drivers are unable to see approaching traffic from the sides. Ford has found a solution for this issue by implementing Front Split-view Cameras on its cars. Cameras located on the grille allow the driver to see around corners without having to slowly move forwards while craning your neck to check for traffic. The live feed is sent to a split-screen setup inside the cabin which gives the driver a 180 degree view of traffic approaching from either side of an intersection.

To mitigate this issue, companies have been working on technologies that are able to sense when a driver is fatigued. The sensors then use subtle, non-startling methods of notification to warn the driver. Jaguar Land Rover is one such company to be experimenting with this technology. Sensors in the car's steering wheel and seat are able to monitor the driver's heart rate and breathing to detect any signs of stress, fatigue or drowsiness. This information is then transmitted to the driver through Haptic peddles that gently vibrate if the system detects that the driver is falling asleep or has a lapse in concentration.

Taking note of this urgent issue, companies like Volvo are researching methods to purify the air within their car's cabin. The Clean Zone initiative adopted by the Swedish carmaker has introduced a larger and more efficient multi-filter in the cabin. The filter is able to catch fine particles of dust and pollutants before allowing the air into the cabin, thereby giving passengers some much needed respite from the hazardous levels of air pollution that surrounds them. Volvo's Clean Zone system is currently available on the new Volvo XC90.