tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/automated-vehicles-69232/articlesautomated vehicles – The Conversation2023-05-03T17:16:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047902023-05-03T17:16:23Z2023-05-03T17:16:23ZHow electric and automated cars are aggravating motion sickness<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/pourquoi-a-t-on-le-mal-des-transports-et-comment-sen-debarrasser-117116">Around 25-30% of the population</a> regularly suffers from motion sickness - a figure which some reckon to be conservative. Symptoms of this poorly understood illness include nausea, sweating, pallor, hypothermia, headaches and vomiting. Mildly affected patients might also experience drowsiness, apathy or decreased cognitive abilities. It is estimated 60 to 70% of travellers will suffer from it at some point.</p>
<p>Motion sickness is experienced <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/001401399184730">most commonly in cars</a>, giving rise to the term car sickness. Passengers are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1915252/">prone to feeling sick because they are deprived of the capacity to anticipate trajectories</a>, in contrast to drivers.</p>
<p>One would have thought that, in more than a century of automobile development, the issue of carsickness should have been be solved. But that is anything but the case. As road vehicles continue to undergo technological metamorphosis, upheavals such as the electrification, digitalisation and automation of vehicles come with benefits - and issues.</p>
<p>In fact, some technological advances may create or worsen the feeling of imbalance and prevent vehicle occupants from anticipating the itinerary. As a result, they increase the risk of undergoing sickness symptoms more frequently. Below are those whose effects are already documented.</p>
<h2>Vehicle electrification: fewer landmarks and more sudden movements</h2>
<p>By nature, an electric motor is more linear and quiet than a combustion engine. This advantage has the downside of preventing certain car users from assimilating the movement of the vehicle. For example, whereas we would associate <a href="http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:91-diss-20220309-1615905-1-0">acceleration with the engine revving</a> in classic cars, electric cars suddenly deprive us of this reference point. Also gone are the combustion engine’s vibrations, which <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vestibular-research/ves00541">some perceive as soothing</a>.</p>
<p>The use of regenerative braking, which captures the kinetic energy from braking and converts it into the electrical power that charges the vehicle’s high voltage battery, can also upset passengers’ balance. The decelerations induced by this system are usually <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2022.866503/full">low frequency</a>, which is typical of a sickness-inducing motion force.</p>
<h2>Digital interiors that encourage distraction</h2>
<p>Another technological advance inducing motion sickness is the growing presence of ever larger and numerous screens inside vehicles. These screens overburden users with visual information, which discourages them from looking outside. They thereby lose their ability to take in the ‘correct’ visual signals – i.e. the external view of the vehicle – which allow them to correctly perceive their position in space. That, in turn, induces sickness. </p>
<p>The rise of screens in cars is likely to increase in the coming years, including vehicles that could even feature screens on glass surfaces or offer on-board virtual reality experiences. This invasive environment can, in turn, impact upon passengers’ wellbeing. Indeed, the mere knowledge one is likely to suffer nausea from screens can stress vulnerable passengers, with research linking <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9925433/">up to 40% of motion sickness symptoms to passenger psychology</a>.</p>
<h2>Autonomous driving and lack of anticipation</h2>
<p>The race among car manufacturers to create the first fully-automated vehicle is also likely to worsen the problem. While today’s vehicles are only partially automated, in future, they will be able to pilot themselves. As mentioned above, this is problematic when we know the act of driving is the best way to anticipate trajectories and curb symptoms.</p>
<p>Moreover, the disappearance of the driving cockpit will make it possible to redesign vehicle interiors to become more welcoming, like a rolling living room. These new configurations will give passengers more freedom, allowing them for example to turn their seat rearwards-facing to chat with other occupants. However, in the collective unconscious, sitting with one’s back <a href="http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-27928-8_26">against the road is associated with the likeliness of becoming sick</a>. Although research has shown that it makes no difference with <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366836220_Effect_of_Horizontal_Acceleration_and_Seat_Orientation_on_Motion_Sickness_in_Passenger_Cars">forward-facing orientations</a>, this is another idea that may constitute a psychological bias toward symptoms. </p>
<p>Another promise of the autonomous vehicle is to allow its passengers to devote “idle” travel time to productive tasks or entertainment. The increasing appeal of taxi and Uber travel, where users tend to gaze at their digital devices, goes hand in hand with this trend. Here again, such distractions <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259674103_Will_autonomous_vehicles_make_us_sick">deter passengers from engaging with the landscape</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, let us not forget the incidence of motion sickness ultimately remains moderate in non-automated cars because of drivers’ ability to adapt their driving style when their passengers report discomfort. This human dimension is set to disappear in autonomous vehicles, whose driving style will be less flexible and less natural than that of a human driver. </p>
<h2>Human beings as the main obstacle to technological advances?</h2>
<p>In the absence of effective means to mitigate motion sickness in cars, aggravated symptoms may ultimately lead consumers to <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-40503-2_10">reject such highly-evolved vehicles</a>. Considering the ethical, psychological and legal dimensions related to their development, it may be that human beings would become the main obstacle to the adoption of these new types of vehicles. </p>
<p>For these reasons, automotive manufacturers and suppliers have shown growing <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7166422">interest in this phenomenon</a> in recent years. Their purpose is to better understand it to alleviate it effectively - not out of public interest but because it could compromise the successful launch of their future products.</p>
<p>To date, the exact causes of motion sickness are still unclear, prompting industrial research to focus on how to limit its occurrence. Countermeasures are currently being researched. The latter include the use of <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9698244">visual</a>, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003687020300211">auditory</a> and <a href="https://journal.ump.edu.my/ijame/article/view/2629">tactile signals</a> to help users better perceive and anticipate the vehicle’s movements, but also the programming of a comfortable driving style that imitates that of a human being and limits sudden acceleration.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Emond ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Smoother and quieter, the car of the future comes with one nauseating hitch.William Emond, Doctorant sur le thème de la réduction du mal des transports en voiture, Université de Technologie de Belfort-MontbéliardLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1679302021-09-28T12:21:09Z2021-09-28T12:21:09ZHGV driver shortage: remote-controlled lorries could prevent future logistical nightmares<p>The current <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58552349">HGV driver shortage</a> is the latest chapter in the UK’s supply chain jitters, disrupting <a href="https://www.fwd.co.uk/wholesale-news/2021/06/14/hgv-driver-shortage-could-threaten-food-supply-fwd/">wholesale food delivery</a>, cancelling <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/south-london-councils-burn-recycling-waste-as-hgv-driver-shortage-disrupts-bin-collections-12404763">bin collections</a> and leading to the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-58709456">panic buying of fuel</a>. While there is a good chance the country <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/24/uk-cabinet-split-over-solution-to-lorry-driver-shortage">will overcome</a> this temporary problem, the driver shortage is calling into question the long-term viability of logistical transportation on the roads.</p>
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<p>One intuitive long-term solution to future HGV driver shortages is to take the driver out of the driver’s seat altogether. Self-driving car technology, which can also be applied to HGVs, <a href="https://theconversation.com/self-driving-cars-will-change-more-than-just-our-roads-17806">promises</a> to bring about substantial change to how we transport people and goods. But, despite advances in automation technology and operational techniques, self-driving vehicles remain <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-self-driving-cars-safe-expert-on-how-we-will-drive-in-the-future-128644">distrusted</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-the-tech-giants-struggling-to-build-their-own-driverless-cars-67465">difficult to build</a>.</p>
<p>One possible solution sits at the very interface of technology with the human: <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/15032/teleoperation">teleoperation</a>, or the replacement of the behind-the-wheel driver with a combination of automation technology and remote-controlled human oversight. We’re involved in work that’s trialling this approach as a more realistic, less distant solution to crises in road logistics in the coming years.</p>
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<p>There has long been a desire to create intelligent and autonomous HGV solutions. Over a decade ago, the <a href="https://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/the-sartre-project/">Safe Road Trains for The Environment</a> project set out to understand the feasibility of road trains, or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/coming-soon-to-a-highway-near-you-truck-platooning-87748">platoons</a>”, to address not only HGV emissions and traffic congestion, but also to enhance logistical efficiency and driver comfort. </p>
<p>In this case, the lead vehicle in the platoon controls all the vehicles behind it, with a necessary gap maintained and altered when other vehicles pass between them. The trailing vehicles require less human input, but the driver still remains in the loop – and in the cabin. That driver would still require HGV training, which doesn’t help during driver shortages. </p>
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<h2>Remote-controlled lorries</h2>
<p>A more realistic and potentially labour-saving solution comes in the form of remote-controlled HGVs. The notion of remotely controlling systems isn’t new – it dates back to the late 19th century, when the electrical engineer Nikola Tesla trialled an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/berniecarlson/2018/07/11/nikola-teslas-third-greatest-invention-the-first-drone/?sh=604883c64d66">unmanned torpedo boat</a> controlled by radio waves. The same basic technology has been used for decades to drive toy-sized vehicles.</p>
<p>Of course, teleoperating road vehicles won’t be the same as controlling a shoebox-sized car. It will take advantage of advances in vehicular automation while still maintaining an element of remote human control over a wireless link. As such, HGV teleoperation can realise the benefits of automation – in terms of scale and reliability – while also taking advantage of human vigilance, enhancing their safety.</p>
<p>Some training would still be involved in this solution, but teleoperation has two key labour benefits. First, the human overseer could feasibly be located anywhere, reducing disruption when drivers are in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it’s also possible that, with continued improvements, trained drivers could oversee more than one HGV at a time – enabling fleets to require fewer human operators.</p>
<p>Teleoperation is currently being trialled up in north-east England, where a 40-tonne HGV is being piloted over a 5G communication network. The £4.8 million <a href="https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/5g-pilot-to-demonstrate-advanced-logistics-in-the-uk-6134">project</a> is funded by the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport to realise the benefits of cutting-edge technological developments in both telecommunication and vehicular teleoperation. Such a combination of emerging technologies could result in optimal route planning, reduced emissions, reduced labour movement and safer journeys. </p>
<p>At present, the teleoperated lorry is being put through its paces at the Nissan test track in Sunderland as part of a “<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/777682/fom_last_mile_road_freight.pdf">last mile delivery</a>” system – transporting goods on the final, shortest leg of their journey – to support manufacturing logistics. It’s a fitting example of how human effort can be relieved from the most intensive stage of the logistical chain. </p>
<p>To bring this vision to reality, the retailer Wilko recently made a <a href="https://www.logisticsmanager.com/wilko-makes-3-million-investment-in-streetdrone-to-bring-autonomous-deliveries-to-the-last-mile/">£3 million investment</a> into StreetDrone – one of the key partners with us on the teleoperated HGV project. StreetDrone is now aiming to bring this technology to UK roads by the end of 2023, albeit initially in smaller vehicles than HGVs.</p>
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<h2>Safety and security</h2>
<p>Such reliance on technology, however, brings about a different set of challenges. Chief among them are security threats posed to the system itself which, like any other digital system, is vulnerable to hacks.</p>
<p>The integration of 5G communication, remote control and a vehicle into one system opens the door to possible manipulation. Developers of teleoperated HGVs know they must be mindful of <a href="https://theconversation.com/ransomware-attacks-on-cities-are-rising-authorities-must-stop-paying-out-122347">ransomware attacks</a> by ordinary criminals, or more sophisticated <a href="https://theconversation.com/us-fears-a-russian-attack-on-undersea-internet-cables-that-could-plunge-world-into-chaos-49857">attacks to critical infrastructure</a> by aggressive nation states. </p>
<p>As part of the teleoperated HGV project, <a href="https://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/areas-of-research/centre-for-future-transport-and-cities/">Coventry University</a> is spearheading an extensive cyber-threat analysis and risk assessment to address these threats. Our work is attempting to understand the nature of potential hacks and cyber-attacks, building the defences that will ensure the vehicle’s safety and security when released on public roads.</p>
<p>Ultimately, as with self-driving technology, a major obstacle to the deployment of remote-controlled HGVs is <a href="https://theconversation.com/finding-trust-and-understanding-in-autonomous-technologies-70245">public distrust</a>. The general public is already concerned about the safe manoeuvring of autonomous vehicles – add in the potential for them to be hijacked or deactivated on the roads, and distrust could be a major impediment in the adoption of vehicular teleoperation.</p>
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<p>Technology undoubtedly has to be a part of any future solution to overcoming our transport and logistics issues, including driver shortages. And if full autonomy is too uncertain a solution for our society, perhaps we need to “teleoperate” our way into the future instead: automating where possible while keeping a sharp, human eye on the road ahead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167930/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>‘Teleoperated’ HGVs combine the efficiency of automation with the safety of human oversight.Siraj Ahmed Shaikh, Professor of Systems Security, Coventry UniversityGiedre Sabaliauskaite, Associate Professor, Institute for Future Transport and Cities, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1135852019-05-14T16:12:48Z2019-05-14T16:12:48ZCars will change more in the next decade than they have in the past century<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274334/original/file-20190514-60570-gfti2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frankfurtseptember-20-mercedesbenz-f015-luxury-motion-719917177?src=OmsG68JHzirH26Sf6RESWw-1-3">eans/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>While the look and feel of our cars has changed in the past <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/automobile/History-of-the-automobile">100 years</a>, the way we drive them hasn’t. But fundamental change is coming. In the next decade, not only will the way they’re powered and wired have shifted dramatically, but we won’t be the ones driving them anymore.</p>
<p>Some cars already have basic automation features, but the automotive experiments currently being undertaken by the likes of Uber and Google make up a minuscule proportion of the vehicles on our roads. By 2030, the standard car will evolve from merely <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-things-to-consider-before-speed-limiters-are-added-to-cars-114457">assisting the driver</a> to taking full control of <a href="https://www.ertrac.org/uploads/documentsearch/id57/ERTRAC-CAD-Roadmap-2019.pdf">all aspects of driving</a> in most driving conditions. </p>
<p>This widespread automation, together with the electrification and increased connectivity of both the car and society, are set to shake up the car industry in a big way, affecting everything from the way cars look and feel, to how we spend our time inside them, and how they get us from A to B.</p>
<h2>A very different driving experience</h2>
<p>The first major difference we might notice between today’s cars and those of 2030 are their names. Just as Apple and Samsung have taken over a mobile phone market that Nokia and Blackberry once dominated, Tesla, Apple, Dyson, and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/29/alphabet-has-more-than-doubled-its-money-on-lyft.html">Google</a> could become the most recognised automotive brands of the future.</p>
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<p>They’ll likely look a lot different too. From <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/nissan-ims-concept-previews-electric-elevated-sports-saloon">the outside</a>, the large air intakes and front grills that cool our combustion engines will no longer be needed, while wing mirrors will be replaced with cameras and sensors. Windows could be larger to allow liberated passengers to enjoy the view, or near non-existent to provide privacy. The <a href="https://www.designboom.com/technology/mercedes-benz-vision-urbanetic-autonomous-09-10-2018/">Mercedes-Benz Vision URBANETIC</a> demonstrates these radical new looks with a modular vehicle that can switch bodies to either move cargo or people.</p>
<p>Cars’ interiors will be much more flexible, some allowing customisation of colour, light, privacy, and layout at the touch of a button. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlh-_hoNLaI">Volvo’s recent 360c concept car</a> envisages a multi-functional space that can transform into a lounge, an office and even a bedroom. </p>
<p>Sun visors will become a thing of the past, with smart glass allowing us to control the amount of entering daylight at the touch of a button. The <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/concept-cars/mercedes-benz-f015-autonomous-concept-first-ride">Mercedes F015</a> concept car’s doors even have extra screens that can function as windows or entertainment systems. </p>
<p>Many cars will be fitted with <a href="https://news.harman.com/blog/harman-and-daimler-bring-the-first-ar-capable-infotainment-system-to-market-with-the-mercedes-benz-a-class">augmented-reality systems</a>, which will superimpose computer-generated visualisations onto the windscreen or other suitable display areas, to ease the passenger’s nerves from relinquishing the wheel by showing what the car is about to do.</p>
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<p>Drivers will be able to communicate with their cars through speech or gesture commands. In high-end models, we may even see some early versions of <a href="https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-tesla-ceo-elon-musk-major-neuralink-update-soon/">brain-computer interfaces</a>, which would associate patterns of brain activity with commands to control the car or entertain occupants. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42894312">Similar technology</a> has already been used to control prosthetic limbs and wheelchairs.</p>
<h2>Connective technology</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/iot-revolution-5-ways-the-internet-of-things-will-change-transportation">ever-growing</a> internet of things will become central to how our integrated cars move us around and communicate with the outside world. Sensors designed to <a href="https://www.bakermckenzie.com/en/insight/publications/2019/01/department-of-transportation-v2x-communications">recognise and communicate</a> with upgraded road signs, markings, networks of cameras, pedestrians, and other vehicles will allow cars to synchronise their movement, minimising fuel consumption and <a href="https://www.its.dot.gov/infographs/predicting_future.htm">improving traffic flow</a>. Cars will also be able to help authorities maintain road infrastructure, for example with tyre sensors that notify them of deteriorating road conditions.</p>
<p>When humans choose to take the wheel, technology will warn drivers about impending collisions with other road users, and attempt to avoid them. Improvements in <a href="https://www.thermal.com/automotive.html#">thermal sensor</a> technology are likely to enable cars to see far beyond the illumination range of car headlights. If sufficiently standardised and legislated for, these technologies should substantially reduce the number of road accidents – albeit probably after an <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-autonomous-cars-really-safer-than-human-drivers-90202">initial spike</a>.</p>
<p>While rural drivers will probably still own their cars, cities may move away from car ownership to the use of on-demand vehicles that take the Uber model to the next level. In Moscow, 9m of these journeys are already made <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2018/12/10/moscow-residents-turn-to-car-sharing-after-parking-crackdown-a63769">daily</a>, more than 30 times higher than at the start of 2018.</p>
<h2>Fuels of the future</h2>
<p>Multiple countries and cities have announced upcoming bans on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicles">many by 2030</a>. <a href="https://www.theweek.co.uk/93443/petrol-and-diesel-ban-uk-which-cars-will-be-affected">Older vehicles</a> will still be on the road, so petrol stations are unlikely to disappear by this date. However, car makers are already focusing more and more on vehicles that will support the fuels of the future.</p>
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<p>Precisely what that future will look like is unclear. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/hybrid-cars-ban-carbon-emissions-uk-environment-a8338611.html">Uncertainty</a> over whether currently popular <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/difference-hybrid-plug-in-hybrid-electric-ev-car/">hybrid cars</a> will be included in vehicle bans may discourage businesses and consumers from investing too much in this path. <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/future-motoring-what-will-cars-be-25-years">Fully electric</a> vehicles only make up <a href="http://ev-sales.blogspot.com/2019/01/global-top-20-december-2018.html">2%</a> of the global market right now, but as their price drops below that of petrol cars by the <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-the-uks-contribution-to-stopping-global-warming/">mid 2020s</a>, their market share will surely balloon.</p>
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<p>By how much depends on to what degree their as yet limited <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/1/18241489/electric-batteries-aircraft-climate-change">range</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-accidentally-created-a-new-wonder-material-that-could-revolutionise-batteries-and-electronics-115347">charging time</a> can be improved, and how much governments invest in currently patchy <a href="https://www.zap-map.com/live/">electric charging networks</a>. We expect fully electric vehicles to at least be a viable choice for a wide range of drivers by 2030 – but unforeseen groundbreaking technological developments could easily change the future of vehicle fuel. For example, scientists are working hard to solve the <a href="https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/93180/hydrogen-fuel-cell-do-hydrogen-cars-have-a-future">production and storage</a> difficulties that currently <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/does-fuel-cell-work-should-buy-hydrogen-car/">limit</a> the potential of clean, fast-fuelling and long-range <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/does-fuel-cell-work-should-buy-hydrogen-car/">hydrogen-powered vehicles</a>.</p>
<p>The year 2030 might not seem too far away, but a decade is a long time for technology to change. In 2008, the first iPhone had only just been <a href="https://www.t3.com/features/a-brief-history-of-the-iphone">released</a>, and climate change was a background issue for governments and media. Now, <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2016/03/22/technology-feels-like-its-accelerating-because-it-actually-is/">technology</a> and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-48097150">environmental discourse</a> are changing at an unprecedented rate. So don’t be surprised if you look back at the cars of today in a decade’s time and wonder how we ever got by.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claude Chibelushi receives funding from BMW AG. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dan Lewis and Debi Roberts do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The year 2030 may not seem far away, but a decade is a long time in technological terms. Widespread automation, electrification, and connectivity are set to revolutionise the car of the future.Dan Lewis, Course Leader, Industrial Design; Product & Transport, Staffordshire UniversityClaude C. Chibelushi, Professor of Cognitive Digital Media Computing, Staffordshire UniversityDebi Roberts, Senior lecturer, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.