Automation hurts automotive experience | Flyer News

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In some fields, technology can be a wonderful vehicle that drives toward progress and improvement. In other settings, like the auto industry, it can have the tendency to be over-intrusive.

I understand that technological developments in automotive history have resulted in tremendous progress in safety and efficiency, and I?m not detracting from that. I just get uncomfortable with the idea of over-automating every single function of the car. I dread the potential for total human disconnect with the driving experience that seems to be in our near future.

Think about some of today?s technologically advanced cars. The new Tesla Model S comes to mind. While a top-notch example of the potential of electric vehicles, it has a touch-screen display in the console bigger than most laptop computer screens. Is surfing the radio on a 17-inch, high definition touch screen entirely necessary? I feel like it could serve as more of a distraction from driving than anything else.

There are other automotive technologies designed for safety and convenience that many times end up obstructing the driver?s intentions. One day this summer, for example, I was behind the wheel of a new Audi sedan. I was borrowing the car, so it took me a minute or two just to set my seat and side mirrors to a desired position, which I set with the intention of having to back up. But when I put the car into reverse, the bossy little German computer system ? which clearly knew better than a stupid human ? re-adjusted all my settings, anticipating my plan to reverse. I was left unable to see anything but the pavement in my mirrors; thus, I practically hit a tree and had to spend twice as long re-adjusting my settings.

Some technologies even seem to be aimed toward removing all human involvement from driving. Many carmakers are beginning to incorporate autonomous braking in cars as a safety feature ? like those Driver?s Ed vehicles we?ve all experienced, with that nightmarish second brake pedal, only now controlled by computers. Earlier this year, Nevada became the first state to formally license autonomous cars, meaning that in that state, self-driving cars are allowed to drive alongside cars piloted by humans. California isn?t far behind from passing such legislation, either. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication and cameras are among the technologies making these cars possible.

I?m left wondering: What happened to making cars for the simple enjoyment of driving? I know in today?s world we?re used to the luxuries and conveniences of modern technology, but is the act of driving a car such a laborious endeavor that it needs to be reduced to full computer operation for the sake of relieving humans?

I get it. I?m a car guy, so I?m biased in thinking everyone must enjoy driving the way I do. Still, I just can?t understand the point of partially or fully automating the driving process for people who only think of cars as A-to-B machines. The thought of trusting computer technology to handle such a responsibility makes me feel like Will Smith?s character in ?iRobot.?

I know that no new technology is perfect. All will continue to improve over time. And in no way am I suggesting that such tools have no place in automotive development. By all means, throw lane-monitoring sensors on cars to tell us when we accidently stray into an adjacent traffic lane, make our headlights swivel on turns so we can better see into corners, give us cameras to help us back up safely in tight spots and integrate methods like direct injection into smaller displacement engines to improve fuel efficiency.

But when technology begins to interfere with the act of driving itself, or when it begins to have authority over our intentions, we need to re-evaluate its place in the automotive world. Because if we?re no longer going to allow ourselves to have control over the driving process, we might as well scrap all the cars in the world and embrace public transportation.

Source: http://flyernews.com/2012/12/04/automation-hurts-automotive-experience/

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