The best thing since sliced bread is better than sliced bread. It’s a car that can drive itself while you kick back, relax, and watch a movie.
Does it sound too good to be true?
For once, it’s not.
The development of self-driving cars is accelerating, and some pretty impressive pieces of technology hit the street in 2016. From Tesla to Audi and even Apple, every car manufacturer seems to be focusing on making their vehicles autonomous. Case in point, Kia’s Drive Wise system about which we will talk in this article.
While we here at Wagner KIA of Shrewsbury love to get behind the wheel and enjoy the open road, it’s not to say that we are not excited about driverless vehicles.
So, what’s Kia’s Drive Wise technology, what does it mean and how it will impact your driving experience?
Let’s find out.
At the beginning of 2016, Kia announced the creation of a new sub-brand for its autonomous-driving technology, named “Drive Wise.” The system was introduced at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Drive Wise encompasses the Korean automaker’s philosophy to build intelligent cars featuring its forthcoming Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or ADAS. More than that, Kia also announced that it plans to build partially autonomous vehicles by 2020, and hopes to introduce its first fully-automated car to the market by 2030.
Kia Wants to Make Cars Safer for Everyone
Although the Drive Wise technology is still under development, Kia has a very clear plan. The system was optimized to improve safety for both drivers and pedestrians by eliminating potential dangers and changing the way in which we interact with our cars.
The process, however, is tedious and complex, and Kia is taking its time to ensure that its technology will make car owner’s lives better. Although the manufacturer’s fully-autonomous car won’t be available until 15 years into the future, Kia is currently developing its Drive Wise technology. The advancements presented this year at CES have already demonstrated their role in improving on-road safety and driver assistance.
Driverless cars are an important step in the society’s journey toward safer streets. Statistics show that self-driving cars can reduce traffic deaths by up to 90%. Kia plans to make this statistic a reality.
Its Drive Wise technology provides drivers with a greater level of driving assistance, predicting and reacting to potential dangers and changing road conditions. As a result, it can improve safety for all road users, from drivers and passengers to pedestrians. By working to reduce or even eliminate dangers, stresses, and hassles associated with driving on today's choked roads, Drive Wise will make it possible for car owners to focus more on the pleasure of driving.
Cutting-Edge Vehicle Integration
The Drive Wise technology will ensure easy communication and interaction between the driver and the car. Thanks to the new state-of-the-art Human Machine Interface (HMI) feature, the driver can interact with the car through gesture control and fingerprint sensors.
One of the main innovations of the HMI technology is that it is based on the concept of blind control. In other words, Kia cars will be smart enough to recognize their owners based on their fingerprints, smartphones, or smartwatches. The car will change the cockpit atmosphere based on the driver’s preferences in music, temperature, and type of information to be displayed on the console. The cockpit will also be able to recognize and interpret the driver’s gestures if they want to alter the ambiance without taking their eyes off the road.
Kia is planning to invest $2 billion by 2018 to speed up the development of the Drive Wise technology and to make it available on every model as soon as possible. In fact, Nevada has already granted the automaker a license to test its innovative technology on the public roads.
Even though you still have to wait 15 more years until you can drive the first fully-autonomous Kia car, with the help of Drive Wise the company is getting closer every day.
Although you can’t find any driverless car at Wagner KIA of Shrewsbury, you can find plenty of other quality models on our website. And the best part is that you won’t have to wait 15 years until the technology is ready.
