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Photo: General Motors is one automaker that’s already testing some autonomous vehicle brands in Michigan. COURTESY / GENERAL MOTORS
The automotive industry has been and remains one of the main anchors of business in Michigan. WKAR’s Jim Peck takes a look at what the future may hold.
The future of the auto industry is exciting, new-fangled and tethered to Michigan, according to engineers working on the next big things.
Hayder Radha is working on self-driving cars. He’s an MSU engineer and director of the Connected Autonomous Network Vehicles for Active Safety, better known as CANVAS. These won’t just be available to the wealthy either thanks to sites like lendingexpert.co.uk which help you to find the most affordable car loans. However, for those who look to buy the latest self-driving car, may want to do a little research into gap insurance, since the depreciation of any car, would be affected if they find themselves into an accident, although insurance regarding self-driving cars may be a little different.
“People will be able to hop into their cars and say, ‘Take me from wherever I am to Chicago.'” He says our cars will basically be like a rolling living room, “It’s just like you’re sitting in your house, but mobile.” Although whether or not you would need a driver’s license is still yet to be seen. Some have argued that ‘drivers’ of self-driving cars may not need a license in order to own one, while others argue that car owners would need a license, but could be allowed to use alternative IDs similar to ID God and other types of photo IDs.
Our vehicles will also be connected to the Internet, according to the Radha, so we’ll be able to work, or play, as the miles roll away. It is amazing how far cars have come since they were first invented, the basics of them to the modifying that happens in this day and age. Knowing about cars and how they have adapted over the years whilst standing the test of time (some would say German cars) is interesting to the car lovers of the world, this is an interesting article to read about cars and if German cars really are the best ones to pick.
Mileage, as always, is a big concern. Larry Drzal leads a team trying to figure out a way to make composite materials part of the design and structural mix. His work at Michigan State and with IACMI, the Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation is about making our cars lighter. He says the internal combustion engine isn’t going away any time soon, but that it’s gotten about as efficient as it will ever get. Making cars significantly lighter is the best way he sees of getting more miles per gallon.
Hayder Radha and Larry Drzal both lead these efforts of development and innovation right here in Michigan. Drzal points to history of this industry, born in our state, and the future that’s coming to life here, signals a healthy outlook.
“In a global economy we want to make sure the United States can provide the manufacturing jobs we need for a solid economy. I’m one of those people who believes if we don’t do manufacturing here, we’re not going to be a very valuable or robust economy,” He says working with the car makers on projects like this has tremendous importance. “Certainly working with the auto companies is great and this is great for Michigan. If you step back a little bit, this is great for the country.”
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