"Drones are becoming standard equipment in cars. Not
all cars yet, but the innovative solution is becoming more and more popular
because drivers can, for example, see the road in front of the vehicle or
illuminate it at night.
Three large car manufacturers from China have already
integrated their vehicles with roof- or hood-mounted unmanned aerial vehicles.
These – voice-controlled or flying autonomously – can film the driver or the
surroundings and transmit the image to a screen in the cabin. According to
Wired magazine, this is a new trend that will spread across the automotive
market.
What's happening around the bend
The innovation may seem surprising, but this idea has been
closely watched by the largest automotive companies for several years. In 2019,
Audi showed its AI:Trail concept vehicle, which had several small drones
equipped with cameras and headlights installed on the roof. The idea is that
they move above and in front of the car, illuminating the road and showing the
driver in real time on the display inside the car what is hidden behind, for
example, a hill or a bend.
The Chinese put the futuristic project into production
faster than expected. Three companies are already installing docking stations
for unmanned vehicles in their electric cars. Such flying image recorders,
which can be used to film a moving vehicle, are being introduced by BYD, the
world's largest manufacturer of electric cars. We are talking about the
Yangwang U8 model, a plug-in hybrid SUV that costs PLN 150,000 (37,762.81 dollars).
It is
equipped with a DJI drone and a roof-mounted box with a special retractable
panel for storing and charging the drone. The system can be activated with one
click and the image from the drone can be viewed live on the display in the
car.
Similar technology was offered to customers by Lynk &
Co., a company owned by Geely. The company has updated the operating system in
its 06 EM-P compact SUV so that the DJI drone launched from the hood of the car
can transmit images from cameras to the cockpit. Dongfeng, the manufacturer of
the M-Hero 917 SUV, is also riding the wave of the new trend. The vehicle, which
costs PLN 98,000, can be equipped for an additional PLN 14,000 the S400 commercial drone from GDU Tech.
The unmanned vehicle takes off from
the roof of the SUV and can be controlled by the driver using a special touch
screen, or fly in autonomous mode.
It's quite an advanced device because the
S400 camera system has motion detection and face recognition functions."
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