Smart cars with Silicon Valley tech dominate CES
I’ve spent the last few days in Las Vegas with nearly 200,000 of my closest friends, looking at the latest tech gear on display at CES.
CES used to stand for “Consumer Electronics Show,” but – as is the trend – it’s now known only by its initials. Based on what I saw this week, the “C” could stand for “car.”
CES takes place about a week before the big Detroit auto show, but that didn’t stop car companies from coming to CES to show off their latest technology, ranging from nifty audio systems to prototypes of fully autonomous cars.
Ford made news both at CES and the Monday before, when it announced it was canceling a $1.6 billion factory in Mexico and instead building a $700 million factory in Michigan for its electric and autonomous vehicles. But even though Ford may build those cars in Michigan, the automaker is building in Palo Alto the technology that goes inside the cars.
Toyota Research Institute also is located in Palo Alto, and other car makers have similar labs in Silicon Valley.
One reason for the nexus between Detroit and Silicon Valley is the ecosystem of local hardware and software companies and talented engineers that are playing a major supporting role. Just about anyone who walks or drives around Mountain View has come across those self-driving Google cars that are being tested on local roadways with a “safety driver” on board to comply with current law.
But Intel and Nvidia also are in the game. At a CES keynote, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off Xavier, a computer that can be the “brains” of self-driving cars by processing data from all the car’s sensors and using artificial intelligence to make those all-important driving decisions, which we human drivers now must make as we pilot our cars.
Intel announced a partnership with BMW and Mobileye to test autonomous vehicles on public roads later this year. Mobileye, founded in 1999, is a pioneer in what the company calls “vision-based advanced collision avoidance systems.”
Chrysler introduced an all-electric concept car with a 250-mile range. The Portal uses “more than 20 available technologies designed to engage, inform and connect the driver and passengers,” according to Chrysler.
Toyota was at CES with a concept car that has a steering wheel, but also can go into “chauffeur mode” for times when you want the car to do the driving. The car’s artificial intelligence software, called Yui, “learns from us, grows with us, and builds a relationship that is meaningful and emotional,” said Toyota Vice President Bob Carter.
On Wednesday, Ford announced its “next-generation Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Development vehicle” with additional sensors and software designed to “see farther and “process information faster.”
While fully autonomous vehicles are still a few years away from commercial deployment, Ford and its competitors are busy developing technology that we’ll see as early as this year.
The company also announced it will work with Amazon to allow Ford owners to use the Echo home music and automation technology to access their cars’ systems from home and control their homes from their cars.
Once deployed, you’ll be able to say things like, “Alexa, unlock my car,” or, “start the engine,” while you’re finishing your coffee at home. On the road, you’ll be able to use your voice to request news, play music or add items to your Amazon shopping list without having to take your eyes off the road or hands off the wheel.
Ford also is adding built-in Wi-Fi hotspot capability to some of its cars that can support up to 10 devices at a time.
I’m a big fan of the Amazon Echo (I have several of them at home). I love how I can use my voice to play music or turn lights on and off, and I think it’s a great addition to the car.
But as much as I admire what Amazon has done to enable voice control, I’m not in a hurry to have this in my car, simply because I already get much of that functionality with my phone. Everyone with a smartphone and a Bluetooth connection to their car’s audio system can already use Google Now or Siri to call up music and maps from their phone.
My new car came with a sophisticated navigation and audio entertainment system with voice control, but I rarely use it. Instead, I have my Android phone attached to the dash with Velcro and connected by Bluetooth to the car’s audio system. I can use my voice to make calls and configure Google Maps with my destination.
iPhone users can do the same by saying, “Hey Siri.” The 5.5-inch screen on my phone is big enough to see the maps and, because I am able to put it where I want, it’s actually closer to my eyes than the car’s built-in display.
So, even if you have an old car, some aspects of the car of the future are already here. Both Google and Apple map apps are easier to use and more up-to-date than any car navigation system that I’ve ever used. The ability to use your voice to say, “Play the Beatles,” is great — especially since the software on our phones is “getting better all the time.”
