Who will steal the limelight at this years first consumer electronics show? Intel, Sharp – possibly Samsung or Huawei? Or maybe, just maybe you have to look towards something completely different; cars.
"Let me assure you, fully automated driving will happen" Werner Struth, Robert Bosch LLC. "We're bringing hydrogen fueled vehicles to the market in 2015" Bob Carter, Toyota. "Cars have become mobile technology platforms" Rupert Stadler, Audi AG. Just three quotes from major players in the car industry addressing packed audiences at today's press day for CES2014.
One would normally expect the likes of Intel, Sharp, Samsung and Huawei to take the spotlight at the world's largest consumer electronics show, or perhaps some new company bringing a creative invention to the market, but it seems today the car was front and center, providing innovation, connectivity and real solutions that offer real improvement to the user experience.
Rest assured those other companies did have some pretty cool stuff on offer and we'll come to that in the coming days…
So, in the automotive space it's not all revolution, but there was a sense of real excitement around the press events held to day by Bosch, Audi & Toyota, and many turned out in the car park of the Mandalay Bay Convention to se the launch of the Formula E racing car.
First up was Chairman of Robert Bosch LLC, Werner Struth. Automotive represents about US$40 Billion to Bosch and they are not short of inventive solutions to make the driving experience more connected, more pleasant, more environmentally friendly and, of course, safer. Werner confidently talked about the future of fully automated driverless cars with, in his view, the level of automation slowly increasing. In 2014 freeway driving in congested traffic will be available, controlling distances and lane positioning. More technology at higher speeds will follow. More sensors, more actuators and more processing power will all lead to the incremental improvement of the experience.
As well as this he talked about natural voice input that uses normal sentences, rather than a string of commands, allowing communication and control, while products like mySPIN allow for greater connectivity with the ubiquitous smartphones or tablets.
Start-stop engine systems already save energy, as much as 15%. An smartphone app that assists with parking already exists, and other aps are being developed specific to use in the car. Bosch is also a pioneer in connected diagnostics, allowing your dealer or mechanic to remotely diagnose potential issues or monitor service requirements.
In Werner's view these innovations all lead to cars being better, safer, cleaner and more economical, but of course they have to be reliable too and that reliability has to be well beyond that of other consumer electronics. An issue echoed by Audi's Rupert Stadler later in the day.
