It's hard to believe that a car without a steering wheel or gear can go on the road.

The concept of “emotional cars” is still quite new and unfamiliar to many people. It is hard to believe that an inanimate object like a car can understand human emotions. Although it is hard to imagine, this is the future of the cars we will drive.

Technological revolution

Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, integrating it into passenger vehicles is being actively researched and deployed by major automobile corporations, helping to improve the driving experience.

We all know that emotions always have a great influence on every aspect of human life. From daily activities to work, study and play. Emotions control us and create joy, sadness, refreshment or fatigue, sadness,...

Emotion recognition technology is developed to measure expressions. First, it recognizes a real human face using a regular webcam. Then, algorithms will process the image, identify important points on the face, such as the corner of the eyebrow, the tip of the nose, the corner of the mouth, etc., and then analyze the pixels in the regions to classify the expression. The set of these expressions will determine the emotional state. With the continuous learning method through artificial intelligence, emotion recognition technology can quickly adjust the algorithms, to achieve high efficiency and accuracy.

This technology has begun to be applied to many different means of life, including road traffic, where drivers often face boring and tiring work, especially when traveling long distances.

A series of the world's leading automobile corporations such as Toyota, Honda, Mercedes Benz,... have spent billions of dollars to create cars, including motorbikes, with intelligence, understanding and sharing emotions with people, helping each journey no longer be boring, become more interesting and exciting. "Overcoming the limits of cars" is a new definition of the way people move in the future.

Up to now, these cars are only at the Concept model (idea), but with the advancement of science and technology, it can be said that the era of "emotional cars" is about to become popular.

Understanding and love

Cars that "understand" people's hearts and "love" their owners are being developed by manufacturers, with many new and unique values.

Toyota Corporation (Japan) has completed the Concept-i model, which is not only a car, but also a true companion.

The most important feature of Concept-i is the combination of behavioral predictions and emotion recognition to control the conversation with the driver, helping people have better moods and emotions while traveling.

The concept can identify a range of emotions from happy to neutral, excited, or tired. It then tries to change the driver's mood using scents, lighting, climate control, and seat movements to make the driver feel more comfortable.

For example, if a driver rubs his eyes or turns his neck, the car can recognize signs of fatigue and find ways to help the driver combat that fatigue.

Over time, it learns the driver's habits, schedules, and favorite stops, and then communicates important information to the driver and passengers inside the car.

Not to be outdone, the Japanese Concept NeuV can also respond to conversations and empathize with its owner, strengthening the bond between owner and vehicle. Thanks to artificial intelligence, NeuV will assist and reduce driver fatigue when participating in long-distance traffic.

Honda's NeuV can also assess the driver's stress level by analyzing facial expressions, voice, and provide suggestions for dealing with different situations.

More specifically, NeuV also knows how to “make money” for its owner in his spare time. Exploiting the idea of ​​creating additional value, the designer turned NeuV into an automatic vehicle, picking up and dropping off passengers at surrounding locations, when the owner is not using the vehicle. Thereby, bringing money to the owner from this service.

Not only Toyota and Honda invest in emotion recognition technology in cars, other corporations are also not left out. Mercedez Benz (Federal Republic of Germany) recently introduced the Smart Vision EQ Fortwo concept car. This is an electric self-driving car, without a steering wheel or gear lever. The car has artificial intelligence that communicates with humans, helping to create excitement every time participating in traffic.

Mitsubishi (Japan) also has the e-Evolution concept model, integrating emotional technology, both collecting data on traffic situations and acting as a "virtual" personal driving coach, and at the same time being able to recognize the voice and preferences of the user, to better serve their needs.

Not only limited to cars, even motorcycles are integrated with this technology. Yamaha Motor Company (Japan) has launched a unique concept motorcycle MOTOROiD, with artificial intelligence, capable of recognizing the owner and interacting with humans like a living object.

By using artificial intelligence technology, they want to enhance the driving experience, turn the car into an object of affection and create extraordinary value, said Makoto Okabe, General Manager of Toyota's EV Business Planning Division.

These concept models are emerging as a technological revolution in the automobile and motorbike industry. With the current trend of technological development, businesses say that it will be produced and supplied to consumers between 2025 and 2040.

This will be a new market with great potential, forecast to reach tens of billions of USD in sales by 2025. Smart cars could account for up to 25% of cars sold globally by 2035. A race is taking place between manufacturers because everyone wants to quickly take the position of "pioneer" in this nascent and fertile market.