CES provides an annual insight into where and how cutting-edge innovations will reshape how people work, study, communicate and, in many cases, how they’ll drive. This year CES saw a number of automakers present concept vehicles that seem both years into the future and on the very cusp of production.
From flying vehicles and AI-powered voice assistants to the latest in EVs, CES 2024 offers a peek into what you’ll be driving — or what might be driving you — in the years ahead. The automotive experts at Edmunds have rounded up some of this year’s most notable automotive debuts.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COMES TO YOUR CAR
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is poised to reshape countless aspects of daily life. While there are plenty of concerns and opportunities involved, it’s clear that automakers will be moving ahead to use AI for what they hope will be a more helpful and optimistic driving future.
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Mercedes-Benz, for its part, debuted its next-generation AI virtual assistant software. The upcoming version of Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment interface, dubbed MB.OS, will feature conversational voice commands and far more nuanced responses. For example, by monitoring voice instructions and driving behavior, the AI system can determine if a driver is hurried and stressed or cruising along carefree. A version of MB.OS is set to debut in Mercedes’ upcoming electric-powered CLA sedan.
FILE – A Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class car is displayed at the Mercedes-Benz booth during the CES tech show, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. Mercedes-Benz, for its part, debuted its next-generation AI virtual assistant software. The upcoming version of Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment interface, dubbed MB.OS. A version of MB.OS is set to debut in Mercedes’ upcoming electric-powered CLA sedan.(AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Another German automaker, Volkswagen, says it will integrate ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot, into its vehicles to provide more voice interaction beyond what’s currently available. For example, the car’s existing voice command features will work for things like navigation, climate control or general knowledge requests. But something it can’t handle will be forwarded anonymously to ChatGPT. ChatGPT will then respond in a seamless Volkswagen voice and style. For now, Volkswagen has not said when this functionality will be available on its vehicles sold in the United States.
HONDA’S HEADED BACK TO THE FUTURE
Reliable, efficient and out-of-this-world wild. Which one of these descriptors is not often attributed to the practically minded Honda Motor Co.? In the near future, all of them look to apply to Honda’s upcoming lineup of electric vehicles, dubbed the 0 Series. Taking design cues from seemingly everything from a ground-hugging sports car to a 1980s-era Dustbuster vacuum cleaner, the Honda Saloon concept vehicle is a hint at the Japanese automaker’s EV strategy and upcoming designs.
With its wedge-shaped body, truncated tail and upward-swinging doors, the Honda Saloon is a head-turning sedan that hints at a production model due in 2026. It will also debut the latest in EV technology, such as a more efficient and longer-lasting battery pack. Just don’t expect that the Saloon’s glowing front grille, gullwing doors and yoke-style steering wheel are all part of the finished product.
FILE – The newly unveiled concept car, Honda Zero Series “Saloon” electric vehicle is displayed during a Honda news conference during the CES tech show Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. Taking design cues from seemingly everything from a ground-hugging sports car to a 1980s-era Dustbuster vacuum cleaner, the Honda Saloon concept vehicle is a hint at the Japanese automaker’s EV strategy and upcoming designs. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun, File)
ELECTRIC FLYING CARS PROMISE TO BECOME REALITY
Flying cars seem like something straight out of a science fiction movie, yet they were very much in the here and now at CES 2024. One of the most head-turning is the eVTOL Flying Car created by Chinese automaker XPeng. Equal parts low-lying supercar and high-flying helicopter, this wedge-shaped concept is wildly futuristic and entirely electric powered.
Notably, the company’s concept isn’t a flying car in the traditional sense. It doesn’t have wings and uses its electrically powered fans to produce lift and fly straight up. It can theoretically take off and land anywhere there’s room, making travel as a sort of gridlock-avoiding city vehicle more likely.
FILE – A person looks at the Supernal S-A2 passenger electric VOTL aircraft at the Supernal booth during the CES tech show Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. Supernal is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Another electric helicopter-like entry at the show was the Supernal S-A2. Supernal is notable for being an offshoot of Hyundai. The connection to the giant South Korean automaker certainly adds some plausibility to the S-A2 turning into reality. The S-A2’s specs aren’t mind-boggling, with a maximum range of just 25-40 miles, but that might be all you need for an aerial taxi.
Supernal says it hopes the S-A2 will be a production reality by 2028. Still, don’t get your hopes up too much that your daily commute is about to take flight. Wait-and-see is the best approach as other vital details such as price and success overcoming regulatory hurdles all remain very much up in the air.
This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.
Nick Kurczewski is a contributor at Edmunds and is on Twitter and Instagram
10 tech innovations that have improved driving safety since 2000
10 tech innovations that have improved driving safety since 2000
A new frontier of road and vehicle safety is upon us. Where once the idea of seat belts and airbags was considered radical and even annoying by many Americans in the 1960s through the 1980s, cars now come equipped with sophisticated technology like automatic emergency braking and corrective steering. Partially and fully autonomous vehicles drive alongside cars with human drivers—with only partial success—all in the name of mitigating human error.
Fortunately, car safety has increased significantly over the past six decades due to technological advances. In addition to seat belts and airbags, innovations like crash testing, brake lights, anti-lock brake systems, and even front headrests have brought down the number of car-related fatalities per 100 million miles traveled by a staggering 78% since 1960.
However, there’s still a long way to go regarding car safety for everyone. People assigned female at birth are still 72% more likely to be injured and 17% more likely to die in a car crash than those assigned male at birth. This is because automakers are only required to perform safety tests using crash dummies designed with larger, more muscular, or broad physiques traditionally associated with men. While the first dummy made to represent the “average-size woman” has been created in Sweden, it is far from being a standardized requirement for car manufacturers.
Cost is another barrier to equitable car safety. Newer cars, which are more likely to be equipped with various top-of-the-line safety features, are safer than older ones, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But not everyone can afford a new car these days, not when the average cost of a new car is $47,899 as of September 2023. Apart from newer safety features, heavier, more well-built cars—usually accompanied by a higher price tag—have been shown to keep drivers safer in the event of a crash than those in lighter vehicles, according to a University at Buffalo study.
Nonetheless, as newer car safety technology becomes more standardized, it will also become cheaper, resulting in safer cars and roads overall. To explore the features that are—or will soon become—mainstream, Westfield compiled a list of 10 tech innovations since 2000 that have helped make cars and roads safer. Read on to learn more about how they work and how effective they are.
Rear-view cameras
Rear-view cameras, also known as backup cameras, were one of the first innovations in car safety technology. They’ve been around longer than most people would expect, with the first emerging in 1956 on a conceptual Buick model, but the technology didn’t catch up to the ambition for many decades. It wasn’t until the late aughts that cars began slowly integrating the technology after Congress passed a law in 2008 spurring auto regulators to require better rear visibility.
By 2014, many new cars came equipped with backup cameras, though the feature wouldn’t become a standard requirement for all new vehicles until 2018. Over the last two decades, studies have found that rear-view cameras have gradually reduced the number of backup accidents, which often involve children and the elderly, and more significantly reduced fatalities associated with backup incidents. When combined with other technology like automatic braking and parking sensors, the reduction in accidents was even more striking.
Surprisingly, there is a demographic divide in drivers who seem to benefit most from backup cameras. For drivers over 70, rear-view cameras cut backup accident rates by 36%, whereas those under 70 experienced only a 16% cut in accident rates, according to a 2017 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report.
Lane departure warnings
Lane departure warnings use sensors that alert the driver when the vehicle’s tire touches a lane marker (as long as the turn signal isn’t in use). Usually, the warning system beeps or flashes to get the driver’s attention, allowing them to correct their steering. This feature has been shown to be highly effective at increasing road safety.
According to an analysis of crashes between 2009 and 2015, cars with lane departure warnings had 18% fewer accidents than cars without the technology. For accidents that involved fatalities, the difference between cars with and without lane departure warnings was even more remarkable: Cars with the warning system were involved in 86% fewer fatal crashes.
Despite the evidence that lane departure warnings prevent crashes, a startling number of drivers with LDW-equipped cars actually disable the feature. A 2020 Consumer Reports analysis found that at least 1 in 5 (21%) drivers turn off lane departure systems because they go off so frequently, resulting in repetitive beeping.
Driving mode on phones
Distracted driving was the cause of more than nine crash-related deaths each day in the U.S. in 2021, according to NHTSA.
To mitigate the effects of distracted driving, major phone manufacturers like Apple and Google introduced modes that halt notifications like calls, texts, and news alerts while phone owners are behind the wheel. The iPhone version, called Driving Focus, can be manually turned on and off when entering or exiting the car or enabled to engage automatically based on motion detection. Driving Focus can also be paired with Apple’s CarPlay feature, a hands-free Bluetooth pairing mode, to redirect phone calls through the car’s speaker system.
Google Assistant driving mode can be activated on Android devices when you navigate using Google Maps. It can also be used as a voice-activated system to send texts and make calls using voice commands and read incoming messages aloud. Data from 2018 found that Apple’s Do Not Disturb While Driving mode resulted in slightly less phone usage behind the wheel, but the impact of driving modes on overall road safety is inconclusive.
Crash detection
Apple announced its new Crash Detection software as part of its iPhone 14 release in September 2022. Designed to pick up on four types of crashes—front, side, rear, and rollover—the software prompts the phone to contact emergency personnel and employs satellite data to communicate the vehicle’s location if the driver cannot communicate, even in locations without cell service. Drivers can also cancel the emergency response if desired. Crash Detection also works with new Apple Watches. Since its introduction, the feature has made headlines for providing potentially life-saving services during unusual crashes.
Apple isn’t the only supplier of crash detection technology, however. Many newer vehicles come equipped with a comparable feature, like OnStar, which similarly functions to alert emergency responders to a driver’s location if they are incapacitated. Android phones have also offered a similar technology since 2019.
Red light cameras
Red-light running was responsible for 1,109 deaths and roughly 127,000 injuries in 2021, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Studies have shown that red light cameras at intersections cut fatal crashes in cities by as much as 21% and decreased them in other locales by around 14%.
The cameras photograph cars moving through intersections, allowing law enforcement officers to review violators and disincentive red-light running through a fining system. Opponents of the cameras have raised concerns about privacy and surveillance. In 2021, 344 municipalities used red light running cameras.
Blind spot detection
Introduced in 2004 by Volvo, blind spot detection has become increasingly standard in new vehicles. The technology uses radar, cameras, or other sensors on the car’s sides to alert drivers to the presence of another vehicle in their blind spot and indicate it visually. Many systems go a step further, giving another, more aggressive cue if the driver puts on their turn signal when another car is in or approaching their blind spot, often beeping, vibrating the steering wheel, or even autocorrecting the steering.
According to 2018 data, vehicles with blind spot detection were involved in 14% fewer lane-change crashes than cars without it.
V2V communication
What sounds like a far-out invention from a sci-fi novel is already playing out on some roadways through vehicle-to-vehicle communication. V2V communication works when cars exchange information about their proximity to other cars, speed, and direction using wireless technology. Cars with safety features like blind spot detection and lane departure warnings can communicate this information to others with the same features, further lowering the risk of crashes. It can be beneficial when visibility is poor due to weather conditions, traffic, sun glare, or low light.
While still in its nascency, V2V communication is becoming standardized in newer vehicles because of a Department of Transportation proposal—and it’s rapidly growing: the V2V communication industry was worth roughly $19.98 billion in 2022.
Car telematics
Car telematics are in-vehicle systems that combine safety features, navigation, and communication features, making switching between them a more integrated, less cumbersome experience. It also means having a more hands-free, less distracted driving experience, decreasing the likelihood of ending up in an accident. Over 3 in 5 new cars had built-in telematics systems as of 2020.
Telematics features can also be used to incentivize safe driving. The recent rise of usage-based car insurance, which rewards safe drivers with cheaper insurance rates, can use embedded telematics to score driving habits like speeding, sudden braking, phone usage, and other factors. In 2022, TransUnion survey data indicated that more and more drivers were opting into usage-based insurance programs. But drivers, beware—not everyone who opts into these programs receives lower rates. In some cases, insurance companies have instead raised rates based on unsafe driving habits.
Smart traffic control systems
Traffic control can help make roadways safer and more organized. Still, systems like traffic lights have historically operated independently from the actual flow of traffic, often leading to red lights that last too long, green lights that aren’t long enough, or needing to wait at a light when no drivers are crossing your path. Unresponsive or ineffective traffic lights can inspire road rage, cause even more congestion, and generally create unsafe driving conditions, perpetuating the very problem they were designed to mitigate.
Smart traffic control systems offer a solution to these hangups by using available information, like the number of cars in each lane of an intersection, to guide traffic in more streamlined ways. Some systems use wire loops embedded in the road to determine congestion levels, while others use cameras or pedestrian inputs, like buttons at crosswalks. Studies in places where smart traffic control systems are in use have shown that they save on fuel, emissions, and time spent in the car and create pathways for emergency vehicles and public transportation.
Automatic emergency braking
Automatic emergency braking systems have been incredibly effective at preventing crashes, cutting rear-end collisions by half when combined with forward collision warnings. AEB systems utilize sensors that kick in when a car approaches another vehicle or object too quickly, engaging the brakes and halting collisions before they can happen. Variations of AEB systems include brakes that engage when reversing the car, if a pedestrian is detected, or at high speeds. In 2022, automakers committed to standardizing this feature in all newly manufactured vehicles.
This story originally appeared on Westfield and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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