Autonomous driving, IoT thriving at CES
Visitors experience virtual reality at the Samsung VR 4D Experience at the 2017 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. The annual CES, which takes place from Jan. 5 to 8, is a gathering where industry manufacturers, advertisers and tech-minded consumers converge to experience new gadgets and innovations that will be released on the market each year. / AP-Yonhap
By Yoon Sung-won
LAS VEGAS ― Autonomous driving and the internet of things (IoT) are stealing the limelight at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with more crystallized concepts and services than in previous global technology fairs.
On the opening day of the world’s largest consumer electronics expo, global enterprises such as Nvidia and Harman unveiled their latest achievements in artificial intelligence (AI) computing and smart car technologies through keynote addresses and exhibitions.
Nvidia, the world’s leading graphic processor provider, has been one of the most active businesses ushering in new autonomous driving technologies to the industry.
In his keynote speech, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said AI-based automobile technologies are leading the company to closer partnerships with major car brands.
“Nvidia seeks to change automobiles to AI systems,” the CEO said. “Through the technologies, we will revolutionize automobiles to provide a safer and more entertaining experience to millions of drivers.”
Nvidia also announced its enhanced partnership with German automobile brand Audi to commercialize AI-based cars by 2020. The two companies first established the partnership a decade ago. Audi America President Scott Keogh said the carmaker’s annual sales volume has increased to 210,000 last year, up from 60,000 10 years ago.
“Self-learning AI automobiles are the only measure to keep severe urban traffic jams under control,” Keogh said. “This is because no programming can manage road traffic in reality.”
During the exhibition, Nvidia showcased an autopilot system and its latest self-driving car system Drive PX2, embedded in Tesla’s Model S. It also provided test-driving of two autonomous driving cars _ the Audi Q7 pilot driving concept car and the Nvidia BB8 ― at the convention center’s parking lot.
Harman, one of the world’s leading digital car component makers, showcased connected car infotainment and self-driving technologies during the exhibition.
It unveiled an advanced heads-up automobile computing system for smart cars, which provides personalized settings for drivers. The firm also demonstrated an infotainment system for an autonomous driving concept car by Swiss maker Rinspeed.
Samsung Electronics decided to acquire Harman for 9 trillion won in November as a move to enter the rapidly-growing car component business. In line with the move, Samsung said it has recently reached an agreement with Audi to provide its mobile application processor Exynos for automobiles starting 2018.
Besides IT companies, car manufacturers visited the fair again to exhibit their future cars that are becoming more digitalized through AI, and smart car and autonomous driving technologies.
Both Ford and Volkswagen presented their roadmap to build smart cars and autonomous driving vehicles in a partnership with Amazon and its voice-recognizing AI system Alexa. Toyota and Hyundai Motor provided visitors with their own autonomous driving experience through head-mounted virtual reality devices.
Mercedes-Benz showcased the Vision Van, an automated parcel delivery vehicle equipped with drones for shipping services, drawing much attention from visitors.
Sony’s creativity continues
Sony has also returned to the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) TV market after almost a decade.
The top Japanese electronics maker unveiled its first 4K OLED TV series at the exhibition. Besides the last high dynamic range (HDR) engine technology, the new TV has multiple creative features including what it calls an Acoustic Surface, which makes the TV’s display panel tremble to produce sound without speakers.
LG Display’s Crystal Sound OLED panel, which was premiered a day ago in Las Vegas, has been used to realize Sony’s unique Acoustic Surface feature, an industry source said.
In the meantime, Chinese electronics makers were eager to follow the world’s three largest TV providers ― Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony ― but only from a distance.
China’s TCL showcased diverse TV products at the exhibition, including ones based on quantum dot and HDR technologies. But this year, it did not display OLED models unlike the previous year.
On the other hand, Konka exhibited 77- and 65-inch OLED TVs. Tapping into the OLED panel’s lack of backlighting, it provided slimmer models with improved image production capability compared to previous tech fairs.
In the home appliances sector, China’s Hisense and Haier showcased a full package of IoT-ready home appliances. In particular, Haier presented a refrigerator, air conditioner, air purifier and washing machine that reminded watchers of those previously released by Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
The smart features that the Chinese brands claimed to offer also remained at an initial stage of merely connecting different devices or characterizing preset features on a touch screen without personalization for different users.