The future will see software so advanced that it enables cars to fix themselves and never crash.

That is the vision outlined by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and Bill Ford, Ford chairman and chief executive.

They believe that high-definition screens, speech recognition, cameras and navigation equipment with road conditions will set car manufacturers apart from their competitors.

Gates, who owns a diverse range of cars including a Ford people carrier and a Porsche 959, believes that, eventually, there could be a car that wouldn’t let itself crash.

“That absolutely should be the goal. The embrace of technology will be the key for the leaders of the industry,” he says.

Microsoft has an entire product group focusing on automotive technology and is working with manufacturers like Ford to bring new ideas forward, such as cars that communicate with service centres, which in turn instruct the car on how to repair itself.

The software giant recently launched a new device aimed at repairers. Nomad Expert Technician System can be built into a baseball cap or worn as a visor and contains a tiny piece of translucent plastic that projects the equivalent of a 17in computer screen before the wearer’s eyes.

The device allows technicians to simultaneously look at a replacement panel and instructions on how to fit it.