Last week I heard about a podcast from Lucid Motors SVP Mike Bell (ex-Apple, ex-Rivian) who codes the Lucid Air and the upcoming Lucid SUV to be named Gravity in 2024, which is very different from every other car. Is. Road including Tesla.
Given that Tesla was heavily influenced by Apple, as well, it will be interesting to see what difference Apple makes in this market when it finally announces its electric car.
The direction of these three companies seems to be hanging in the balance. This is a change from the traditional preferences of older car makers to a model that is more compatible with a tech firm. Car companies like Lucid and Tesla are more like Apple than GM or Ford – which I imagine will eventually become a problem for GM and Ford.
I’ve also had updated briefings from Nvidia and Qualcomm on how they’re tackling autonomous driving, which could be a complimentary approach to the next generation of EVs.
Let’s talk about the future of electric cars, and we’ll kick off with our product of the week: an update on the Bartesian robotic bartender, no joke, Black + Decker.
Nvidia and Qualcomm Vehicle Tech
Nvidia’s drive platform is heavily used in Lucid vehicles. It is a comprehensive suite of offerings that cover the autonomous car technology stack, from concept and simulation to training, to inference in cars. However, most of the strength lies in Nvidia’s Omniverse simulation capability, which is widely used in the automotive industry.
Qualcomm is focusing more on bridging the car side of this equation, with compelling in-car technology that, on paper, is both cheaper and better than other options.
Given that car companies are margin-focused lasers, you can see a world emerging where Nvidia may own much of the backend and control structure for autonomous cars, and where Qualcomm can power its respective self-engineering systems in most cars. May present with driving abilities. Qualcomm has demonstrated that its ability to keep smartphone costs down can translate into in-car solutions that can do the same thing.
An increasingly potential future is one where Nvidia offers a much more autonomous car backend while Qualcomm provides in-vehicle multi-layered computer vision technology.
car and driver conversation
I was driving in the back of a Lucid car (pictured above) last week and I must admit I found the car fascinating to look at. It really is like no other car on the road. The performance specs and price are both amazing.
On performance, they deliver 2.5 seconds 0 to 60 acceleration time, up to 1,111 hp, up to 168 mph, and a range of 520 miles which is class-leading performance at the moment. But that performance will cost you closer to $200K.
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Then again you could argue that you’re basically getting four cars for the price of one: a sports car, a family car, an off-road car, and the Holler (there’s a huge amount of luggage space), All in one vehicle.
Lucid also demonstrates a change in thinking about the interaction between the car and its driver. By now the driver has had to learn to drive a car. Every car is so different that most drivers may never learn how to use all the features. For example, I’ve never been able to successfully use my car’s self-parking capability.
The Lucid model learns how to work with you, learns your preferences, and this data can be transferred from car to car so you never have the issue of being unable to properly use a feature you purchased. Don’t have to face
upgrade after purchase
Lucid goes to the forefront of offering a solution that is not only software-defined, but potentially easy to update and upgrade over time, which will keep the cars in service longer than would otherwise be the case.
I’ve gotten frustrated with more traditional car companies because you can almost bet that right after you buy a new car, they’ll make an upgrade that can’t be retrofitted, and you’d know it was coming. .
For example, a few years ago I bought a Mercedes. Sometime between when I ordered the car and it was delivered, they put one of the features I ordered in another package, which was not available when I ordered my car and, because I didn’t select that bundle (again, it wasn’t even available at the time I ordered) they removed the feature from the car.
The only way I could get it back was to pay three times its cost before that happened. This huge cost increase was because it was far more expensive to add that feature once the car was built.
Both Lucid and Tesla have demonstrated that they can do a better job of providing post-purchase upgrades to their cars. As the industry considers the concept of cars as service, this ability to change a car’s configuration after it leaves the factory not only opens the door to a stronger used car opportunity for dealers, but also for a long time. Till then, with a happy relationship. Cars we buy in the end.
Instead of replacing a perfectly good car after three years because it became out of date, imagine updating the vehicle so that it looks almost as good as a new one.
Lucid’s technology-focused software-focused approach also means that many of these upgrades could come as part of the service, just like some of the more interesting improvements to Tesla cars over the years. Tesla is one of the few car companies where drivers can look forward to software updates as Tesla makes in pleasant surprises, and Lucid is looking to overtake Tesla in this regard.
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Part of why Lucid may be able to outpace Tesla is its use of Nvidia Drive which is a unique way small car companies can match or exceed the capabilities of larger firms by using Nvidia’s extensive resources. It really is a game changer.
wrapping up
As we move into the middle of the decade, our in-car experiences will be changing substantially, not only to become more customizable for the buyer, but to provide a level of personalized after-sales auto-customization experience for that buyer. To do what hasn’t been seen in the tech market, let alone in the automotive market.
Once this is done, the technology market may have to pick up from some of the advancements of the automotive industry to better compete in its segment as this product concept is a competitive revolution to adapt itself to the unique needs of the user. .
It is difficult to see that any customer, when given the option, would ever opt for the old-fashioned way of forced learning and the lack of flexibility in the increasingly smart personal technology, equipment and vehicles they buy.
Companies like Lucid, Rivian, Tesla, Nvidia and Qualcomm are leading the automotive market and screaming for a future that is far more responsive to the needs of their buyers. That’s good news for our purchasing future, though probably not until the latter half of the decade.
‘Bev’ by Black + Decker
We were one of the first owners of Bartesian Robotic Bar Tender, and we have enjoyed the product for many years since it came out.
However, there was annoyance over how the alcohol was placed in the device and the pain of filling it with water that often spilled over. We left a bottle of wine without cleaning it for too long and it got stuck. So, we went looking for a replacement only to find out that Black + Decker has created a new version of Bartesian called Bev (little B) and it’s awesome!
Let’s start with the fact that with the old Bartesian we had to swap bottles of rum and gin when making the drink because it only contained four types of alcohol. The new version has five different bottles, and it uses the bottles the alcohol comes in, so you no longer have to clean the bottles, you just throw them out when they’re empty. Plus, it provides a sixth bottle for water so you can easily fill it under the tap (don’t try to fill it with the refrigerator; you’ll find water all over the floor).
‘Bev’ on-demand cocktail maker (Image Credit: Bartesian)
The unit has lights under the bottles that light up as drinks or can be cycled as it sits unused, making an impressive presentation in your kitchen or bar. Whereas the old Bartesian had a display that would take you through making a drink, the Biwi has five buttons. The first four drinks are for size and the final drink starts the making process which is much quicker and more fun to watch.
The Bev uses the same pods as the old Bartesian, but lacks a water chiller, so you’ll need a supply of ice. But the result is looking better, far less messy (the old bartesian would leak from time to time when filling), and so far it has worked flawlessly.
On a hot day, and we’re getting a lot of them, a cold rum punch is a great way to end the day; And sitting outside with a chilled cocktail on the weekend helps make it all worthwhile.
Priced at around $300, the new Biwi by Black + Decker is my product of the week. encourage!
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ECT News Network.
