Smart Glass Glimpse, 08/22/16

Happy Monday to all of our kind readers! This is Carolina, the humble writer who brings you Smart Glass Glimpse, 48-Hour Home Hacks, and DK Watchlist. In case you've been wondering where I've been due to the lack of activity in the DK Hardware blog, I've been traveling through Russia, Croatia, and Denmark admiring the glass of the world. Now that I'm at the office again, I'm excited to get back on track with our posts and show you what's happening in the glass and glazing industry. So sit back, relax, and shake off those Monday blues with the newest edition of Smart Glass Glimpse.

Smart Glass Glimpse brings you the latest technology news in the glass and glazing industry so you can easily keep updated.

Mitsubishi Electric’s Plan To Increase The Public’s Trust In Self-Driving Cars

Do you trust technology? As we become more and more dependent on technology, we also become more suspicious of it. We all seem to fear the impending robot overthrow of humanity. In all seriousness, although we rely on technology immensely, we tend to fear it as well.

When it comes to self-driving cars, the two Tesla crashes have made us skeptical of the semi-autonomous Autopilot system’s effectiveness. If a self-driving car has crashed in testing, then we definitely don’t want to try it out ourselves, do we?

However, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America Inc. has made it its mission to regain our trust. How do they plan on doing this? By increasing the information given to the driver about the vehicle’s autonomous functions, such as emergency braking and lane keeping.

Mitsubishi Electric explains the problem: The driver doesn’t know if the autonomous system is working. If the driver doesn’t know how the system works, they won’t have confidence in it. We feel safer with what we know, that’s why as human beings we have such fear of the unknown.

The plan is to implement the FlexConnect system, which includes a large in-dash touchscreen unit, an in-dash unit in front of the passenger seat, and another integrated display in the instrument panel. The display system will be able to show the driver how the car is behaving visually, so the driver will know how the autonomous functions are working.

Mitsubishi Electric also plans to integrate the AccuWeather application, which provides the driver with real time weather updates on their navigation route.

The automotive company expects the FlexConnect system to be validated, fully integrated, and market-ready in the next 12-24 months.

What is your opinion on self-driving cars? Does the FlexConnect system increase your trust in the effectiveness of autonomous functions? Let us know in a comment below.