Microsoft Azure to augment driving at CES 2017

Microsoft will be one of many companies showcasing automated driving features at CES 2017, but while many are striving for full automation, Microsoft and others' systems will augment human drivers. They will encourage inter-car communication, use AI bots that can analyse traffic and run in-depth analytics on everyone's driving style.

I've made no secret of my interest in driverless car technology, but as close as it is to reality, it's fair to say that it will be a decade or more before most can begin to afford such an extravagance. In the mean time new car buys will come with ever increasing automated features, some of which Microsoft will be showing off at CES 2017.

At the show starting this week, Microsoft will showcase technologies such as AI bots that are capable of analysing the environment around the car, the roadway ahead, the current flow of traffic and pedestrian density. All of that can then be fed back to the driver to recommend lane choices or an alternative route.

Source: IAV

More than that though, Microsoft believes the future will see the driving experience customised for the driver. Knowing personal preferences for information and entertainment, merely sitting behind the wheel could see your car transformed into an experience that is uniquely tailored to you.

NXP Semiconductors will show off automated communication between vehicles, so that everyone knows where everyone else is, regardless of line of sight. This could allow for intelligent traffic lights, early collision warnings and cautions about potentially dangerous parts of a road, all of which will be analysed and delivered over Microsoft's Azure cloud.

Other connected services such as in-depth analytics, could allow for a more customised insurance package based on driver habits. This could also give us a real insight for how to design future roadways, as well as provide much more spatial context for drivers in real time.

To top it all off, an Azure connected automated vehicle will be shown off at CES too. Developed by IAV, the vehicle will showcase all of its connected features to CES visitors, detecting infrastructure and pedestrians around it as it gives attendees a short trip around the show floor.

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KitGuru Says: Even if not all cars end up being entirely automated, it's exciting to see how much augmented driving with some automated features could help make us safer and more informed about the other drivers all around us. 

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