 | « Back to article | Print this article |
The Consumer Electronics Show is one place were science fiction meets reality, and this year's edition was no different.
True to form, CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the US, saw mind-blowing concept vehicles being introduced, from self-driven cars to flying cars controlled by AI.
Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com offers a quick checklist of the best of CES's Auto World.
Byton's M-Byte
Byton, a chines automobile maker, displayed their Byton M-Byte electric Smart autonomous SUV that powered by lithium ion batteries.
The M-Byte has a 48-inch curved display console for driver information and infotainment.
The steering wheel has a touch screen control panel.
Byton claims its car to be "future-proof" as it's built on a unique plug and play architecture, by which both the software and hardware are upgradable.
M-Byte can be charged up to 80 per cent in just 30 minutes flat.
Toyota Guardian
Toyota is pushing road safety to the next level by introducing the Toyota Guardian technology, an accident avoidance system developed by the auto major.
If the system senses a collision or the car moving out of its safety zone, it takes over from the driver and manoeuvres the car to safety or avoids a collision.
Nissan IMx KURO
Nissan, the Japanese automobile manufacturer, displayed their Nissan IMx KURO, an autonomous driving concept car.
The IMx KURO is powered by Nissan's Brain-to-Vehicle (B2V) technology.
If you remember how in the James Cameron movie Avatar the human-like creatures and animals connect, in a takeoff from it the B2V technology reads the brain waves of the driver to predict his/her action or detect the driver's discomfort, and interprets and transmits the signals to the autonomous system to improve the drive quality.
Kia R.E.A.D
Kia Motors, the South Korean automobile manufacturer, displayed their AI enabled Kia R.E.A.D. (Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving) system for autonomous cars.
Through this system the vehicle is able to read the passengers' emotions through their expressions.
Honda Dream Drive
Japanese car manufacturer Honda is trying to make driving an engaging and more comfortable experience.
The Honda Dream Drive on the car's dashboard and passenger's display, allows users to shop, book tickets, order food, watch movies or read books and many more.
In case you are wondering how the driver can watch movies or read books, the system is divided into two parts, and the one for the driver filters the content to offer options like filling fuel, ordering food or booking tickets. The passengers get the full bouquet.
BMW + Intel Mobileye
Intel's subsidiary Mobileye comes to BMW cars.
Mobileye is a advanced driver assistant system (ADAS), which is different from other such systems that use multiple cameras, laser or radar.
Mobileye uses a single optical camera, software algorithm and AI to detect other vehicles and obstacles.
Harley Davidson LiveWire
The Harley Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle is an electric cruiser motorbike.
Not just any other electric cruiser, this bike is enhanced with Panasonic's cellular telematics connectivity.
When the app is installed on one's cell phone and synced with the bike, one can check the bike's vitals like battery charge status, find its location on a map and get security alerts if the bike is bumped, tampered with or moved.
Bell Nexus VTOL aircraft
The transportation for the future is here, courtesy the Bell Nexus, aka flying taxi.
Bell Nexus is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, which means lesser space is required to take off and land. Expect to be ferried in one soon enough!
Whill Autonomous Drive wheelchair
Unable to walk or having no one to attend to you? No worries, the Japanese self-drive wheelchair comes to your rescue.
The Whill Autonomous Drive wheelchair uses Lidar (that measures distance by pointing a laser at the target and calculating the reflected light on a sensor) to create a map and also to avoid obstacles.
The wheelchair can be controlled via an app, all one has to do is to set the destination and you will be transported.
When not in use the wheelchair automatically goes back to its predestined position.
Oh yes, the wheelchairs can even communicate with each other to ride in tandem.
