CES Preview: Self-Driving Cars, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Integration to Debut
CES Preview: Self-Driving Cars, Apple CarPlay and Android
Auto Integration to Debut
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi are among the auto
manufacturers showing off their latest tech innovations at the annual consumer
electronics show in Las Vegas opening Jan. 6
by Michael Walker
1/2/2015 12:40pm PDT
Confirming the relentless convergence of cars and
technology, a record 10 auto manufacturers will be on hand at the 2015
International CES show in Las Vegas next week. Mercedes-Benz chief Dieter
Zetsche and Ford CEO Mark Fields are scheduled to deliver two of the show's
five keynote addresses.
What compelled Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, GM,
Hyundai, Mazda, Toyota and Volkswagen to ship hundreds of cars to Las Vegas,
construct elaborate sets and field flashy presentations at a convention
dedicated to consumer and entertainment technologies--only a week prior to the
Detroit Auto Show, the industry’s most important annual trade event?
The answer lies in the fact that car buyers—particularly
millennials—are no longer as susceptible to the industry’s traditional
marketing tropes of styling, horsepower and handling. Instead, they see the car
as an extension of their digital lives, and increasingly demand that it mesh
seamlessly with their smart phones, tablets and other personal tech. A Compass
Intelligence survey of smart phone-owning drivers released in December
concluded that "the primary needs and wants out of technology...is the
enhancement of the driving experience."
The Consumer Electronics Association predicts that sales
of factory-installed technologies in cars will reach $11 billion in 2015 as
drivers embrace 4G LTE connectivity, which turns a car into a rolling WiFi
hotspot, as well as adaptive cruise control, parking assist and collision
avoidance and other systems that enhance safety and offer a preview of
self-driving cars, which will become increasingly commonplace in the next ten
years.
Among the news expected at the show:
During a keynote devoted to autonomous vehicle
technology, Mercedes' Zetsche is expected to unveil an egg-shaped self-driving
concept car that it teased earlier this week on Facebook. Mercedes has been
deep in development of autonomous cars for years. Its Intelligent Drive system,
which debuted on the 2014 S-Class and incorporates 3-D stereoscopic cameras,
radars and other sensors that allow the car to automatically brake for
obstacles, stay in its lane and drive itself in traffic jams, is the most
advanced available today. Look for enhancements to the system to debut on the
concept car--which will probably drive itself onstage, with Zetsche emerging
from the rear passenger's seat, if his performance with the S-Class at the
Frankfurt Auto Show is any indication.
BMW also offers semi-autonomous technology in current
production models--camera- and radar-based systems warn the driver of impending
hazards and can automatically brake the car to a standstill if necessary. At
CES, BMW will demonstrate a specially equipped i3 that drops its driver at the
entrance to a parking garage, navigates to an open space, parks and locks
itself, then repeats the process in reverse when the driver remotely summons
the car with a smart watch. BMW will also unveil a concept car showcasing its
Laserlight headlights that debuted on the i8 plug-in hybrid supercar earlier
this year. The lights are among the first use laser technology that increases
the range to 600 meters--or more than six football fields.
Toyota will demonstrate its faith in the viability of
zero-emission fuel cell vehicles, which combine hydrogen and oxygen to create
electricity to power a car, with the North American unveiling of its FCV, which
will enter production in 2015 and be sold primarily in California, where a
skeleton network of hydrogen fueling stations exists with 40 more scheduled to
open by 2016. The advantage of fuel cell technology over plug-in electric cars
such as the Tesla Model S is that hydrogen refueling takes only three to five
minutes, whereas recharging on electric car's batteries can anywhere from 30
minutes to hours. But the scant infrastructure of fueling stations outside
California and the increasing popularity of pure electric and plug-in hybrid
cars--BMW, Audi and Mercedes are heavily invested in plug-in electric
technology--will challenge wide-scale adoption of fuel cell cars, experts say.
Expect to see Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto
debut in 2015 production cars. Each allows a driver to plug a smart phone
running Apple's iOS or Google's Android operating systems into a car's USB port
and control it from the infotainment touch screen. Although consumers are eager
to adopt CarPlay and Android Auto, car manufacturers are less than thrilled to
share space on their proprietary infotainment systems out of concern that
Google and Apple could gain access to the trove of data about a car owner's
location, purchases and other personal information. The duopoly theoretically
compels manufacturers to choose one system or the other--Apple has signed up
Mercedes, Volvo, Jaguar and BMW--but the reality will probably more closely
resemble the compromise Hyundai will unveil at CES: an infotainment unit that
integrates both the Apple and Android systems.
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