Future Cars Could Double as Doctors

By: | December 8th, 2013

Technology is advancing faster than the abilities of the people trying to use it. As cars get smarter with new technologies, drivers are getting behind the wheels of vehicles with advanced safety, entertainment and comfort features. But the future of car technology points to another major area of concern your car will have: Your health.

According to the latest highway safety stats, collisions in the US are on the rise and fatalities are increasing every year. That could change over the next decade as future cars will become more equipped with technology that could be smarter and more aware than we are.

Vehicles will come with the features like:

• Monitoring your health as you drive and determining if you are fit to operate the vehicle
• Intervening to avoid an accident
• Possibly dimming the lights to make you more comfortable while driving you to a hospital
• Recognizing street signs to take over the wheel if you’re drowsy and then driving a pre-set route
• Utilizing wireless technology to drive themselves

Concept cars, such as the Ford S-Max, are high-tech hospital on wheels. The S-Max monitors your heart rate and blood sugar levels. Not only that, it is packed with plenty of other tech too, including active safety features and car-to-car communication. The driver’s seat is armed with an electrocardiogram (ECG) that logs heart rates and patterns over the long term as well as picking up on any acute heart problems.

The technology is already there, just waiting for us to catch-up to it.

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

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