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Future Cars Set to Transform Beyond Mere Transport into Dynamic Interactive Spaces, Thanks to Emerging Tech

Emerging technologies are transforming cars from simple transportation tools into dynamic, interactive spaces. At CES 2024, TomTom's SVP of Engineering Maps Michael Harrell outlined how advances in mapping, connectivity, and AI are fundamentally changing the human-vehicle relationship. This shift signals a broader redefinition of the automotive experience driven by software and real-time data.

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By Grant Harrell · · AccessCes 2024Digital CockpitMichael Harrell
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Key takeaways

01

Cars are evolving into interactive, connected environments beyond their traditional transport function.

02

TomTom's mapping and engineering advancements are central to enabling this in-vehicle transformation.

03

CES 2024 served as a key stage for showcasing how emerging tech is reshaping the future of mobility.

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How is emerging tech redefining our relationship with cars, transforming them from mere transportation tools into dynamic, interactive spaces?

Michael Harrell, SVP of Engineering Maps at TomTom, offers a visionary perspective on this transformation, emphasizing the profound changes in how we interact with our vehicles. His insights were particularly highlighted at the CES 2024 event, where TomTom unveiled its ACCESS-powered digital cockpit, showcasing the future of in-car experiences.

Harrell delves into the electrification of vehicles and the advancements in self-driving technology, which are altering the automotive industry and reshaping our everyday experiences. His insights reveal a future where cars are no longer just about getting from point A to B, but about enriching our lives with new forms of entertainment, connectivity, and comfort with emerging tech. He also touches on the challenges and breakthroughs in vehicle interface technology, highlighting the role of conversational AI in making our interactions with cars more intuitive and human-like.

“We’re really gonna be looking at a car as a third living space, and it’s gonna enrich this environment if you could have a great theater and gaming system with camping capabilities. All these great things that you can do and experience within the car, it’s fundamentally changing the way the automotive industry and the number of companies are thinking about and working, to innovate and change the space of the car,” Harrell said.

Article written by Sonia Gossai

Video TranscriptExpand ↓

So the way we interact with our car is, ever changing, and, it's completely being disrupted as we know it. The question is, are we there yet? The reality is no, but we are making significant progress towards it, and it's super exciting. And Mike from Tom Tom, I run the mapping division at Tom Tom, where we, make our maps. And we have a lot of exciting stuff that we're working on and, demoing here at CES. I'll talk to you a little about. Few of those things, the mapping industry is being disrupted and the automotive industry is being disruptive in a significant way. One of the biggest disruptions that are happening is just how we interact with car. The electric station of the vehicle, is gonna change how we interact and behave when we sit to, go somewhere to recharge our car. What are we gonna be doing while it's charging? We're gonna either be on our phones, and we're gonna take advantage of this expansive infotainment system within the vehicle. The continued advance man self driving is gonna get us to when we get to l three capability, we no longer have to pay attention to the road. What are we gonna do? We're either gonna pick out our phone or we're gonna have this amazing opportunity to take advantage of this infotainment space. And so really the car is transforming into instead of a way to get from a to b, we're really gonna be looking at a car as a third living space, and it's gonna enrich this environment if you could have a great theater and gaming system with camping capabilities All these great things that you can do and experience within the car, it's fundamentally changing the way the automotive industry and the number of companies are thinking about and working, to innovate and change the space of the car. And that's actively happening now. And so are we there yet? No, but we're definitely along the way A lot of great things are happening. So when we think about the digital cockpit, for example, and and how you interact, with the software defined vehicle that's much more rich with media and and and other types of capabilities. Big advancement is in, chat or large language models, how you interface with the car. The biggest challenge, that's been, happening for such a long time is It's just clunky to to interface with car. You gotta use a single finger. You it's it's not the the user experience you're used to on your phone or on something else. But with the advancements now with, conversational, IVI or, conversation, you can just talk to the car naturally and it can understand you. And more then just understand you as you speak a sentence or ask for your task. It can understand a conversation. You can under if it doesn't understand, you can ask for a refined question, and then it can better, respond to what you're doing. It's so advanced. It's hard to really describe on a video. You've gotta just try it out to really fully understand the significant breakthrough that's happened and how it understands you as a person and what it is you're trying to accomplish and being able to then basically tap into all of this complex functionality within the car. And that's That's where this you created this simplification for how you can interact with a car that's become incredibly complex because there's so much going into it now to really create this rich third living space. And the ability to just have a conversation with your car to tell it what you wanna do, where you wanna go, how you want to route, whether you want the windows rolled down, or you wanna it's hot, or all these different devices car are easily easy to interact with with just natural conversation. Hughes breakthrough. Are we there yet on that? Absolutely. We are now going to see in twenty four natural conversation go into the car. A lot like if people remember from those who like me, a lot like night rider in the old kit days. That is actually very much where we are now. Where we aren't yet is, with self driving. We keep asking for it. We keep saying it's gonna be there. It's not there yet. It's happening. It's still being worked on. Are we there yet with being comfortable about, range anxiety in EV or more important now what's real anxiety is charging anxiety? Can you find a good charging station? Is it gonna have your plug? Is it gonna be able to do all the right things? Is it a safe place? Is there is there somewhere to eat while you're waiting for it? We're almost there. Twenty four will see that as well. We'll start seeing, the solute, you know, solving the charging anxiety and being able to get into a better place. Traffic conditions and challenges there would bear absolutely with that. The probes on the road, the traffic, capabilities of understanding that, understanding where accidents are, rerouting, and making sure we can find the most efficient path for you to get to your destination. Absolutely we're there at that level. And so, yeah, that a lot of exciting stuff that we're working on, some really great breakthroughs. We're really changing the way we're doing maps and bringing in a bunch of companies to collaborate and and pull together something better. But, yeah, come check us out and see all the cool things we're up to.

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About the author

GH
Grant HarrellHead of Transportation/Mobility & Host of "Are We There Yet?" video podcast series

Asking the most exciting, innovative, cutting-edge companies in transportation/mobility the “Are We There Yet?” question is a lot of fun, and the focus of Grant Harrell's top video podcast series! And, it’s not a bad question as so much is truly happening in this space today. What used to be trains, planes, and automobiles is now robots, drones, and spaceships, and Grant is curious about how soon we are all going to see these technologies in action, at scale. Very few of us enjoy a car that drives itself, have dinner delivered via drone, or have taken a vacation to space, but these amazing technologies and applications, as Grant discovers within his "Are We There Yet?" podcast series, are here, or as he likes to say, "we're there"! Grant also serves as the Head of Transportation/Mobility for MarketScale, one of the fastest-growing, most-successful, fun b2b media companies in the industry! MarketScale works behind the scenes for many of the top brands today, building their brand, engaging their communities, and telling their incredible stories! Within Grant's leadership of MarketScale's Transportation/Mobility division, he enjoys working with top companies within automotive to aviation, micro-mobility to marine, drones to space exploration, and everyone in between. And, Grant encourages you to reach out to him directly and set up a meeting, because as he says, "whats the point of all of this transportation/mobility technology development if we aren't headed somewhere fun to meet someone interesting"!

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About the Experts

GH
Grant Harrell

Host / Contributor at EY

Grant Harrell is a contributor and host associated with EY, covering emerging technology trends and their impact on industries such as automotive and mobility. He explores how innovations like AI, connectivity, and mapping technologies are reshaping consumer and enterprise experiences. His work includes coverage of major tech events such as CES.

MH
Michael Harrell

SVP of Engineering Maps

TomTom

Michael Harrell serves as SVP of Engineering Maps at TomTom, where he leads engineering efforts around mapping technologies for automotive and navigation applications. He has been a prominent voice at industry events such as CES 2024, sharing insights on how vehicles are evolving into interactive, connected spaces. His work sits at the intersection of software engineering, geospatial data, and the future of mobility.

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