CES is over and most people in the business are still digesting what happened. AUTO Connected Car News published a pre-event round-up. Here are more CES announcements.
CES reported “CES 2020 was revved up the future of transportation. Nine of the world’s leading car manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Daimler (Mercedes), FCA, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota, and more than 150 vehicle tech exhibitors unveiled the latest in connected cars, self-driving vehicles and concept cars. Products included the Mercedes Vision AVTR concept car, Audi’s AI:ME and the Sony Vision S.”
Aptiv Architecture
Aptiv PLC unveiled a modern, sustainable vehicle architecture that enables automakers to improve safety, increase vehicle efficiency, and deliver the intelligently connected, software-defined experiences consumers want.
Aptiv’s expertise in software and systems integration, combined with its ability to provide automotive-grade compute and signal and power distribution inside the vehicle, sets the company apart from others looking to help OEMs address vehicle electrical and electronics complexity. SVA is a sustainable open platform that lowers total cost of ownership and enables feature-rich, highly-automated vehicles. It is also built to meet the most stringent functional safety and cybersecurity standards.
Green Hills & NXP
Green Hills Software, the worldwide leader in embedded safety and security, announced it has expanded its Green Hills Platform for Secure Gateway to include the new S32G Vehicle Network Processor from NXP® Semiconductors. The platform combines the newly-announced and segment-defining S32G Vehicle Network Processor with Green Hills Software products and services which include: ASIL-certified INTEGRITY® real-time operating system (RTOS), INTEGRITY Multivisor® secure virtualization and integrated MULTI® development suite. The platform enables global carmakers and their suppliers to add new levels of safe and secure performance while mixing applications with differing ASIL certification levels, including open source environments such as Linux, to power the next generation of central gateways and domain controllers in production vehicle programs.
SOS LAB and ON Semi
SOS LAB, a LiDAR startup for self-driving cars, and ON Semiconductor, a world-class supplier of semiconductor-based solutions, signed a LiDAR collaboration memorandum of understanding to advance the development and commercialization of LiDAR technology for the automotive and smart factory markets.
Under the agreement, both companies plan to use their respective technologies jointly to accelerate the development and commercialization of LiDAR systems focused on the automotive and smart factory markets. SOS LAB provides high-power VCSEL light sources & Metalens optical technology while ON Semiconductor offers high-resolution SPAD Arrays used for sensing single photons making the combination ideal for a solid-state LiDAR time-of-flight application.
HARMAN
HARMAN launched the HARMAN Ignite Marketplace, HARMAN ExP Integrated Solution Suite and EV Plus+ Solutions.
Panasonic UL & SPYDR
UL, a leading safety science company, announced that an e-bike was certified to a new North American safety Standard, UL 2849, the Standard for Electrical Systems for eBikes. Panasonic, a global manufacturer of batteries for automotive and e-bicycles, became the first organization to certify to UL 2849 on Jan. 3, 2020, for their GXO and GXL models, BEP-NUA251F and BEP-NUA252F series.
Panasonic Automotive, launched its latest fully integrated technology platform to transform the consumer experience and deliver new flexibility and freedom for automakers. Panasonic Automotive revealed its latest SPYDR 2.0 at CES 2019, which is a single brain cockpit domain controller solution featuring a Driver Monitoring System (DMS) with Head-Up Display (HUD) Integration.
SPYDR 2.0 is an industry-leading smart technology platform. Panasonic Automotive recognized the current overcrowded state of most vehicles, and designed a solution that can integrate the brains of IVI, cluster, surround view, ANC, HUD and up to four entertainment displays within one platform. SPYDR 2.0 is designed to blend safety and non-safety components seamlessly, including multiple displays with telltales, complex video and audio processing algorithms, tuners, and also offers automatic contextual personalization. With Panasonic Automotive’s patent-pending technology, SPYDR 2.0 integrates a camera with direct view of the driver without any visual blockage. With SPYDR 2.0, vehicle manufacturers experience enhanced scalability, performance, flexibility, openness, and speed to market. The first model of SPYDR made its debut at CES 2018.
Audi
At CES showed what streamers and streaming could do. The entire booth was engulfed in colorful plastic streamers.
The fully automated Audi AI:ME represents a personal “third living space,” alongside our homes and workplaces, that is familiar with the desires and needs of its users. Passengers can use eye tracking to communicate with the show car intuitively and have it order their favorite food, for example. They can also enjoy a wellness experience in the AI:ME. A pair of VR goggles in the car allows the occupants to enjoy a virtual flight across a spectacular mountain landscape. The technology adapts virtual content to the movements of the vehicle in real time. The result – passengers can fully relax and get away from their hectic day-to-day lives. They return to reality when they have arrived at their destination. The ordered food was delivered on time, coordinated by the AI:ME on the basis of the users’ personal preferences and the car’s navigation data. Journalists can test this concept of a mobility partner that anticipates your needs as part of an automated drive at CES 2020.
The “Audi Intelligence Experience” shows how it’s done: The car knows its user and their habits and uses intelligent functions combined with artificial intelligence to increase the passengers’ safety, wellbeing and comfort. The self-learning navigation system is already integrated in the current generation of the MMI systems. It saves preferred destinations, connects them with the date, time and current traffic situation, and it derives suggested routes from this data. In the future, the car will also conduct a precise analysis of the functions and settings that its user prefers, ranging from the seat position, media, route guidance and temperature to the fragrance of the interior. Within a short amount of time, the Audi is familiar with the user’s preferences and implements them autonomously. If desired, it even bases its settings on the user’s condition by observing their driving style and vital functions. At CES 2020, visitors can experience the basic functions of the Audi Intelligence Experience in a prototype.
Audi showed the 3D mixed reality head-up display. Audi will present the new technology it developed in cooperation with Samsung at CES. Just like with a 3D television, two views are generated of each picture: one pixel for the left eye and the neighboring pixel for the right eye. To the driver, the pictures of the 3D mixed reality head-up display appears to be floating at a distance of 8 to 10 meters; through clever representation, the apparent distance is even increased to over 70 meters. Advantage: The eyes, accustomed to a long-range view, do not have to refocus.
The transparent display on demand is a further highlight: The screen is 15 centimeters high, 122 centimeters wide, and partially embedded into the instrument panel. It offers two layers: a transparent OLED display and a black layer for a particularly deep shade of black. The highlight: Sections of the display that are not required for showing information remain transparent. They give the impression of a glass pane and thus offer an unobstructed view of the road.
Also on display were the Audi AI:ME vision vehicle and the near-production-level show car Audi Q4 e-tron concept, with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, all the way to the Audi e-tron Sportback (combined electric power consumption in kWh/100 km*: 26.0–21.9 (WLTP); 22.7–20.6 (NEDC); combined CO2 emissions in g/km: 0) with digital matrix LED headlights, which will be available spring of 2020.
Amazon and Alexa
Telenav extended its work with Amazon to offer voice-first navigation through Alexa, providing drivers the convenience of hands-free, intelligent navigation – even in places where reception is poor or nonexistent.
The Telenav-Alexa integration ensures end-users can use voice for all their navigation-related interactions, even while driving through areas with spotty or non-existent cloud connectivity. Zooming in and out of the map, adding a stop en route to the destination, asking for guidance on turns and lane changes, and searching for points of interest nearby and along the route are just some of the delightful features voice-enabled by this integration. Drivers can count on Alexa to always be there, connected or not, to simplify their driving experience and making their journeys more convenient and pleasant.
Features enabled by this Alexa integration include the following tasks that are always an “Alexa” interaction away:
- Map Interaction – Zoom-in or zoom-out on the map
- Add a Way Point – Add a stop to their current route
- Turn and Lane Guidance – What’s my next turn?
- Navigate to Previous Destination – Go to their previous destination
- Navigate to User Favorites – Drive to kid’s school
- Search Near a Destination – Find businesses or things of interest nearby
- Search Along the Way – Find points of interest along the route in-progress
“The enhancements to on-board Alexa integration to work with navigation, even when offline, will delight users and change the consumer perception of built-in navigation systems,” said Roger C. Lanctot, director of mobility research for Strategy Analytics. “Telenav is leveraging Alexa to revolutionize this application space.”
Pioneer Electronics debuted its newest lineup of flagship NEX in-dash receivers that feature the latest automotive connectivity solutions, including Amazon Alexa Built-in. With Alexa, drivers can ask to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and more. Available in three different product configurations and three different screen sizes, all five models also feature Android Auto (wired/wireless), Apple CarPlay (wired/wireless), widget-based live weather and sports content and a variety of multimedia entertainment capabilities.
Amazon announced that Rivian will enable automotive functions from Alexa, from opening the hood climate control, rolling windows up and down, and even opening the hood and trunk.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Zerolights’ concept customizes vehicle buying process, from online research to personalized remarketing to in-dealership and post-dealership interactions.
Amazon announced partnerships with both BMW and FCA to offer streaming Fire TV on their rear-seat entertainment screens.
Alexa Talk to Me on the Potty
Numi, Kohler’s most advanced intelligent toilet, offers exceptional water efficiency, personalized cleansing and dryer functions, a heated seat and high-quality built-in speakers. The lighting features on Kohler’s flagship intelligent toilet can be paired with speakers to create different spa-like environments within a bathroom space. Amazon Alexa built into the product provides simple voice control of Numi’s features and access to tens of thousands of skills.
Post CES Roger Lanctot, Director Automotive Connected Mobility at Strategy Analytics summarized trends this way
“I guess the question is which will come first, flying cars or level 4 automation.
The battle of the digital assistants is engaged and automobile cockpits will be overrun with multiple digital assistants trying to enable connections between cars, homes, and content – with the most clever solutions integrating with safety systems. Amazon, Android, Apple, and Alibaba all show progress in expanding their dashboard positions – while automakers are still trying to preserve their customer relationships. Data monetization schemes are proliferating though actual compensation of car owners appears to remain out of reach – with the possible exception of a Crossbar.io collaboration with Continental which suggests some potential for driver compensation via a pay as you drive scheme?”