Smart cars: 2000 or 2020?

Emerging commercial and aerospace electronics technologies are significant enablers for a new era of Smart Cars that might become available at the turn of the century. However, strong inhibitors such as cost, electronics architecture, Government regulation, and highway and vehicle manufacturer infrastructure threaten to delay the benefits of Smart Car functions to the year 2020 or beyond. This paper examines these enablers and inhibitors and discusses steps that the auto industry and Government might take to accelerate the deployment of Smart Car functions.