Have you ever muttered the words, "Shoot, I was supposed to turn off there," while driving? I have. And so have many other drivers. But what if your car could let you know when you need to change lanes to make an exit?
That's exactly what the latest software update for one popular electric car, the Polestar 4, can do. The new update introduces Google Maps' live lane guidance directly into the Polestar 4's 10.2-inch driver head-up display.
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How does live lane guidance work?
The feature uses Google's on-device artificial intelligence to understand exactly which lane the car is sitting in by reading lane markings, road signs and other visual cues through a forward-facing camera. This is fused with Google Maps navigation data to produce clear visual reminders and audio alerts when it's time to move over.
Picture a four-lane freeway where your navigation says an exit is coming up in half a mile. Rather than glancing at a center screen or your smartphone in a holder and second-guessing a junction at the last moment, the lane layout appears right where your eyes already sit.
Rather than looking for arrows on your smartphone and car's center screen to indicate the lane placement you need during navigation, a visualization right in front of your eyes will show you where to go. Polestar
Every lane for the chosen route is highlighted, and the system calls out the lane the car is currently in. If you're in the wrong lane, for example, the HUD immediately shows you and gives an audio nudge to move over, allowing you enough time to react. Instead of spotting the exit at the last second, you get a clear visual that says you're two lanes away from where you need to be, and you make the change long before the junction appears.
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It turns a potential last-minute scramble into a calm, early correction. While mistakes like this may not be common in areas you know well, they're all too easy to make in unfamiliar environments. Car and technology reviewer Mark Ellis says features like this would also be useful when you're driving in another country, and "are unaware of the road rules or disciplines."
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