Yesterday, we shared the story on how increased inclusion of technology in automotive sector arises the danger of security - and today we have more automotive technology for you. Adding another Smart feature to a variety of new functionality dependent on technology, Ford has re-thought the headlights and has made it smarter allowing it to locate and track objects in night. The new Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System utilizes standard and infrared camera to detect objects near the road and even widen the beam at junctions and roundabouts.

Improving upon the Ford's Adaptive Front Lighting System and Traffic Sign Recognition, the system interprets traffic signs to better illuminate hazards that are not in the direction of travel, and uses GPS information for enhanced lighting when encountering bends and dips on a chosen route. Where GPS information is not available, a video camera detects lane markings and predicts the road’s curvature. When next the driver uses the same road again, the headlights adapt to the course of the road automatically. The new technology can locate, track and mark eight people or animals up to 12 meters, the system also spotlights the hazards for the driver with a spot and a stripe on the road surface and highlighted objects are displayed on the screen inside the car. Do watch this exciting new technology in action on the video shared below.

Anything connected to the internet is vulnerable to outside access and security violation by hackers, and network connected "Smart Cars" are no exception. Just imagine the horror of having your car taken over by hackers remotely while you are driving at high-speed on a highway, and suddenly the vents of your car starts blasting cold air at the maximum setting, the radio switched to the local hip hop station at full volume, the windshield wipers turned on and wiper fluid blurring the glass while you push buttons on your dashboard to stop this mayhem without any success. This is no longer a imaginary situation as two hackers demonstrated the zero-day exploit they found in Jeep Cherokee to Wired reporter Andy Greenberg and as shared in the video below.

If Range Rover's James Bond style phone controlled car was not enough to get you excited, here is even more technology and luxury from BMW.

The 2016 BMW 7 Series is feature packed iteration to the companies lineage of luxury vehicle generations, BMW has released an 55 page press release explaining the bells and whistles of their new flagship model. Besides the new softer character the car now features the ‘Carbon Core’ tech which makes use of carbon fiber for structural pieces to reduce weight and improve efficiency of the car, on the technology front the car comes with "Remote Control Parking" allowing the driver to navigate in or out of forward-parking spaces standing outside of the car. The feature is initiated via the "BMW Display Key" which includes an integrated LCD display. Other noteworthy new features include the gesture control integration within iDrive where a dash-mounted 3D sensor will be able to detect predefined hand movements to interact with the infotainment system, inductive charging table for wireless charging of your gadgets, Welcome Light Carpet, elegant LED lighting of various elements inside the car, 4-zone climate control, ventilated seats with massage, flip-out airline style tables and much more. Do not forget to enjoy the introductory video displaying all the major new attractions of this new luxury car from BMW.

Imagine yourself controlling your car with your smartphone just like Pierce Brosnan driving a BMW with his smartphone to escape bad guys, well this can soon be a reality with Range Rover Sport controlled by a Smartphone App. As demonstrated by Jaguar in the video shared below, the Remote Control Range Rover Sport research vehicle is being driven by the driver from outside the car via his smartphone.

The smartphone app includes control of steering, accelerator and brakes as well as changing from high and low range. This would allow the driver to walk alongside the car, at a maximum speed of 4mph, to manoeuvre their car out of challenging situations safely, or even to negotiate difficult off-road terrain. The smartphone app also comes in handy to reverse the car out of a parking space if someone has parked too close for them to open the door. Jaguar is doing some excellent research work in bringing technology to it's cars for tackling real life issue like the Transparent Car Technology Demonstrated earlier.

Drunk driving is the reason behind 10,000 deaths each year, 25 states in USA impose ignition interlock devices for drunk driving offenders which require them to blow into a breathalyzer to start the car. A new "Smart Car" technology called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) aims to change that with automated, transparent, noninvasive alcohol safety check in all cars. The technology will automatically detect when a driver is intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at or above .08 and prevent the car from moving. It will be made available as a safety option in new vehicles - like automatic braking, lane departure warning and other advanced driver assist vehicle technologies. Don't forget to watch the video demonstration of this smart car technology shared below.

This is one aspect of technology usage in automotive industry that none should have anticipated, the application of "copyright laws" like DMCA to your vehicles because they are now computing platforms. Automakers are doing their bit to support copyright law provisions which would prohibit home mechanics and car enthusiasts from repairing and modifying vehicles, Automaker OEMs and their lobbying organizations have filed comments to the federal agency saying cars have become too complex and dangerous for consumers and third parties to handle. The automotive industry has now raised concerns that modifying these ECUs and the software coding that runs them could lead to vulnerabilities in vehicle safety and cyber security. The "copyright" angle to the dispute arises from a section of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which defines it's applicability to "rolling computing platforms". The U.S. Copyright Office is now examining whether provisions of the law that protect intellectual property should prohibit people from modifying and tuning their cars.

Leading car manufacturer Hyundai will be debuting their next-generation "BLUE LINK" technology and app at CES 2015, The Blue Link smartwatch app once paired via Bluetooth to the owner’s smartphone allows execution of Remote functions from almost anywhere in the U.S. without any range limits as long as the smartphone has a Bluetooth and data connection. Blue Link Smartwatch features voice activated controls for Remote Engine Start/Stop, Remote Door Lock / Unlock, Remote Flash Lights / Honk Horn, Car Finder, Call Roadside and Call Blue Link.

Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) R&D division has been demoing some excellent automotive technology concepts and after "Transparent Windscreen", it's time for Transparent Pillar and Follow Me Ghost Car Navigation concept video demonstrations as shared below.

Adding another entry to the growing list of smart automotive features including more and more technology. Assuring us once again that we could be seeing automated self-driving cars in "near future", Hyundai has released a video titled The Empty Car Convoy which shows six 2015 Hyundai Genesis cars driven by stunt drivers until one by one they jump out of the vehicles in order to allow the cars drive on their own.