My first CES experience was overwhelming. The crowds, lines, and enormity of the conference were beyond anything I could have imagined. The featured technologies, however, did not blow me away. It’s been challenging to consider blogging about this because who returns from CES unimpressed?!
Most of my time was spent in the “Vehicle Technology” section, where nearly every booth showcased a vehicle – either an existing one with advanced features or a conceptual design. Notable examples of conceptual vehicles include Mercedes Benz “Urbanetic (modular design)” Bell’s “Nexus” (flying car!), and Hyundai’s Elevate (walking car).
It was interesting to see how many companies are focusing on auxiliary technologies to support fully autonomous vehicles. Although entertaining to think about, the need for these technologies remains uncertain. Examples include:
- Kia’s Real-Time Emotion Recognition Technology which can alter the cabin environment based on human senses. Aptiv is pursuing similar technology (see link here).
- Audi and Disney’s Virtual Reality which matches the car’s movements with a corresponding VR environment. Intel and Warner Brothers are doing something similar (see link here).
- Byton’s futuristic dashboard – a 48-inch curved unit providing information about the car, its surroundings, and entertainment for passengers.
However, there were two significant disappointments for me at CES:
- Barely any mention of electric vehicle technology beyond Nissan’s Leaf e+.
- Lack of good swag! Even my one-year-old wasn’t impressed with my souvenirs.
That being said, it was an amazing experience, and my favorite part was demonstrating a robot completing first/last mile package delivery from EasyMile’s EZ10 at the Continental booth (see video below). What did others think about CES?
