Gartner Inc.’s annual Hype Cycle (below) has become a much-anticipated metric of the maturity and market viability of numerous technologies related to automated driving and new mobility. For 2020, Gartner analysts note the COVID-19 pandemic has been a detriment throughout the technology-development chain.

But the longer-term horizon is hopeful. “More than half of the technologies on this Hype Cycle are in the trough [of Disillusionment], which means that the hard work of commercializing many significant technologies is underway,” the analysts said, adding, “Over the next five years or so, many technologies on this Hype Cycle will become productive parts of the automotive and smart-mobility ecosystem.”