These questions originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights.
Answers by Bryson Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Pearl Automation, on Quora.
A: The car of the future will be designed for engaging in activities other than driving, such as reading, videoconferencing, VR, and gaming. Think of the luxuries that are increasingly provided during airline travel, such as wifi.
Getting there with the current automotive industry will take a very long time (30-40 years) given that today's cars are designed to be stagnant (with the notable exception of Tesla). The car of the future, whether we're talking full autonomy or not, will have the ability to be upgraded over time through modular components.
A: Through our work here at Pearl, we have discovered that one of the most underappreciated advances in auto tech is having a backup camera with obstacle alerts, as well as a product that actually improves with ongoing software updates.
Generally speaking, there is a lack of understanding when it comes to the relative value of automotive technology. Airbags are seen as a key lifesaving feature, yet at 50 percent, their estimated reduction in fatalities is only 5 percent higher than using a shoulder seat belt alone. Compare that to electronic stability control, which many believe is less important, yet provides a nearly 20 percent reduction in fatalities.
Many newer technologies, such as blind spot warning and adaptive cruise control, are very compelling to drivers that have the features on their cars; however, that awareness is limited by the technology only being available on new cars, which fundamentally limits the value proposition and therefore the adoption rate.
A: There aren't many solar-powered features in cars because it's expensive, and it's and typically much easier to create a product that is plugged into the power system of the vehicle. When creating RearVision, we wanted to develop a truly self-installed solution, and therefore we sourced super-efficient solar cells and designed a power architecture that supported extended use on the outside of the vehicle.
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