The International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is to the consumer electronics industry what the SEMA show is to the automotive aftermarket. Since 1967, CES has been the electronics world’s top platform to debut new products and steal headlines. Over the years, CES has given us the debut of the Camcorder (1981), plasma television (2001), tablets (2010), and much more.
The show’s reach extends well into the automotive market, and companies like Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, Audi, Hyundai, and KIA showed off their latest navigation systems, entertainment gadgets, and collision-avoidance technology at this year’s show.
Even for those of us that prefer carbureted engines and points ignitions, there’s always something fun and interesting to come from the CES show in Las Vegas. The folks at Popular Mechanics identified these five car tech trends at the 2013 CES show:
- Applification of Cars: Car makers are looking to add new on-board applications to expand the capabilities of their cars.
- Leveraging the Cloud: Auto manufacturers are coming up with new ways to use smartphones to sync up with vehicles and display information such as speed and performance data, vehicle location, trouble codes and diagnostics, and more.
- Hacking the screen: Electronics developers are finding ways to convert the touch screen in newer cars into on-board Android tablets.
- The Death of Satellite Radio: Manufacturers are utilizing smart phone apps to stream music to their vehicles’ audio systems via services such as Pandora, Grooveshark, and others.
- Autonomous Driving: According to Popular Mechanics, all major vehicle manufacturers are working toward the goal of offering some form of autonomous driving within the next decade.
Check out more CES coverage, including additional details on these car tech trends, at the Popular Mechanics website.
Comments