Future cars to send mails, gives health reports

Pesky break downs in the middle of a busy street due to engine trouble would become a thing of past as future technologies would enable a car flash health report well in advance indicating all was not well with it.

"Your car could send an e-mail telling you that it's time to drop in for a health checkup at your nearest service centre," said Dr Alan Taub, executive director, General Motors Research and Development in Warren Michigan, while tracing the future technology in the automotive industry.

"It could warn you well in advance that it was having an engine problem or that the brake pads were getting worn out or that the battery has not been charged enough", he said.

The component of electrification and electronification of value added software in vehicles, especially in the high end segment will go up to 40 per cent by 2015, said Mr Allan. The vehicle would have sophisticated software that could be serviced by just downloading a patch of software.

GM, which has already made available parts of this technology in the US, is working on increasing the content of sophisticated software that could be addressed through remote applications, Dr Nady Boules, director, Electrical and Controls Integration Research Lab said.

The technology which will be made in India in future, would enable the driver to receive a once in a month report from the vehicle telling you its health status.

The technology would also help monitor the critical systems in the car from time to time and send indications if it was going to face some trouble, said Mr Boules.

"The indicators could be available in various ways, you could have a green saying that it is time for a check up, a yellow that could indicate that you need to hurry and red which meant that you swerve immediately to your service centre", said Mr Boules.

GM is working on a software at two ends, one that could be made available on the driver's panel and another that could be availed through remote control.