Let’s face it: the cars of the 21st century are becoming increasingly high-tech – and they are changing the way we travel forever. Let’s look at a few of the latest innovations:

THE AI MICROBUS

Volkswagen last year showed off its futuristic I.D. Buzz Microbus at CES which impressed most people with its utilization of artificial intelligence. It recognizes the owner’s face as he or she approaches and then unlocks the doors. It also monitors the driver’s eyes for alertness continuously, and use deep-learning techniques to enhance the vehicle’s autonomous driving skills.

VOICE-CONTROLLED INFOTAINMENT

Toyota has become the latest car maker to introduce voice-control to some of its cars. From 2018 selected Toyota and Lexus models boast this feature. By simply giving voice commands to Alexa, drivers and their passengers can control the vehicle’s infotainment system – and they can also control their smart home devices at home remotely.

THE MIND-READING CAR

Although it’s unlikely this technology will become available in production cars very soon, Nissan has announced that it is developing what it calls Brain to Vehicle systems that use input from a device that looks like a headband to read brain activity and then prepare the vehicle for the action you want to take even before you actually take it.According to Nissan the system also detects when you are uncomfortable during autonomous driving and then adjusts the vehicle’s autonomous driving style or suspension settings on the go.

BUILT-IN WIFI

For those drivers among us who are used to keeping our passengers happy during long, boring road trips, built-in wifi in cars came as a godsend. Suddenly everyone is connected to the big world out there, and they can keep themselves busy without tearing the car apart.The kids love to play online games, and the non-driving parent can keep him or herself busy for hours by playing casino games. Of course there’s also abundant material online for those who want to improve their game.