One other CES has come and gone and transportation was nonetheless one of many central actors on one of many world’s largest tech phases. It wasn’t simply electrical automobiles both that captured our consideration at CES 2024.
Firms and startups centered on automated driving, EV charging, software program (and extra particularly AI), sensors, aviation, boats, drones, micromobility — you title it — had been there. And fortunately, so was TechCrunch.
Listed here are among the tech themes that stood out to us at CES 2024.
All the pieces electrical
Picture Credit: Kirsten Korosec
The Huge Three U.S. automakers — GM, Ford and Stellantis — might not have had splashy shows and product reveals, however quite a few others had been there serving to cement CES as a significant auto present. Honda, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, Turkey’s Togg and Vinfast all confirmed off electrical ideas and manufacturing automobiles on the occasion.
It wasn’t simply massive established automakers that had a presence at CES 2024 both. Electrification has seeped into each nook of transportation from bikes and e-bikes to go karts, huge rigs, boats and plane.
As an example, Segway revealed two electrical scooters, the E2 Professional and Superscooter ST1, two e-bikes known as the Segway Xafari and the Segway Xyber in addition to a Segway GoKart Pro 2 that may be related to a PC and used for enjoying racing video games like Forza.
Startups had been additionally in full power and may very well be discovered at a wide range of CES-related occasions akin to Pepcom and Unveiled. Cleveland, Ohio-based startup Land Power was again with its sporty e-bike that has a swappable battery, whereas Finland’s Verge Motorcycles confirmed off its Verge TS Extremely, an electrical motorbike with a hubless ring design, superior driver help tech and a powertrain that produces an eye-popping 201 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque. Over in Eureka Park, the place lots of of startups arrange store, electrification was additionally current. One startup that caught my eye was Solar Buggy, an organization that has developed an electrical city mobility car that appears like an enclosed golf cart.
Picture Credit: Kirsten Korosec
And naturally, there have been the electrical plane and drones. On the startup entrance, Pivotal opened up on-line orders for its personal electric aircraft the Helix whereas autonomous on-demand drone firms Zipline and Wing landed a huge deal with Walmart. Hyundai’s superior air mobility unit Supernal revealed its production-intent electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown plane and Xpeng Aeroht, the subsidiary of Chinese language electrical car maker Xpeng Motors, confirmed off a brand new idea and introduced that deliveries for its Land Plane Provider would begin in late 2025.
With so many electrical automobiles, it won’t shock people to study that EV charging firms had been additionally there en masse. Outdoors of the better-known charging infrastructure firms, we discovered startups centered on EV charging software program in addition to these exhibiting off novel approaches like WiTricity’s wi-fi charging tech.
Generative AI
Picture Credit: Volkswagen
Earlier than even stepping foot on the present flooring, TechCrunch workers had been forecasting that AI would dominate CES 2024. We weren’t flawed. AI was everywhere, together with in transportation from automobiles and e-bikes to scooters and electrical aviation.
There have been a great deal of firms touting AI. Whereas there was actually loads of vaporware, many firms demonstrated how software program is more and more incorporating AI to supply (hopefully) extra succesful merchandise, together with car sensors, voice assistants in automobiles and autonomous driving programs.
There was additionally lot of chatter round generative AI, and extra particularly, ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot features through the use of by massive deep studying fashions which have been skilled on huge datasets. I checked out two ChatGPT demos: one with BMW and one other from a collaboration with software program firm Cerence and Volkswagen.
Volkswagen introduced plans to add an AI-powered chatbot into all Volkswagen fashions geared up with its IDA voice assistant.
In the meantime, BMW and companion Amazon confirmed off a growth challenge that makes use of generative AI, powered by the Alexa LLM, to offer the automaker’s voice assistant better functionality and ship data in a extra human, conversational method.
Hydrogen
Jaehoon Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Co., heart, and Chang Hwan Kim, senior vp and head of battery growth and hydrogen and gasoline cell growth for Hyundai Motor Co at CES 2024. Picture credit: Getty pictures through Bloomberg
Hydrogen energy isn’t new, nonetheless, it’s taken a little bit of a backseat these days to extra conventional battery electrical automobiles. Don’t inform anybody at CES 2024, although, as this 12 months’s present flooring was suffering from automobiles of all sizes that are hydrogen-powered.
Hyundai, which has a rising portfolio of battery-powered electrical automobiles, got here to CES to speak about hydrogen gasoline cells and its imaginative and prescient for the choice gasoline. Nikola lastly confirmed off one in every of its first U.S.-built hydrogen vans that it’s beginning to ship to clients and Bosch, which already makes hydrogen gasoline cells (just like the one Nikola makes use of in its truck), introduced it should make an engine that may combust hydrogen. Truck maker PACCAR additionally confirmed off a hydrogen-powered truck.
We additionally bumped into different hydrogen-focused startups that had been strolling the halls to satisfy with media, potential traders and business people. Croft Motors was one we got here throughout. The startup is growing “rugged” hydrogen-powered automobiles, beginning with a three-row, prototype SUV with an “anticipated 1,000 miles of driving vary.
In-cabin {hardware} meets software program
Harman reveals off its ReadyCare product at CES 2024. Picture credit score: Kirsten Korosec
Automakers, automotive suppliers and even some startups, confirmed off their respective imaginative and prescient for the within of the automotive. Sure, there have been loads of touchscreens, together with the favored curved design.
In-car tech stretched effectively past that although into areas of security, well being assessments and leisure. Eye-tracking tech was all over the place. As an example, Harman confirmed off its branded Prepared Care system, which might measure a driver’s eye exercise, cognitive load and very important indicators to find out the extent of focus and a spotlight on the street forward.
Numerous firms additionally showcased how {hardware} akin to cameras and different sensors as soon as used for security are actually being leveraged for different extra comfort-focused companies. Bosch confirmed how eye-tracking tech may very well be used throughout your drive to determine what factors of curiosity you’re taking a look at, and the automotive might provide contextual data.
In the meantime, Mercedes introduced an entire bundle of options that when mixed creates a full expertise for the motive force and passengers, together with an upgraded voice assistant, in-car gaming, immersive audio and an app developed by will.i.am’s new firm Sound Drive that matches the throttle, brakes and steering to a kind of clever multichannel mixer that influences songs enjoying within the automotive.
My takeaway: firms perceive that drivers and passengers are a captured viewers, so to talk. They usually’re all engaged on methods to carry all of the tech now we have on our telephones and houses into the car.
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