CES 2021
MOVEMENT: TRACKING NOTABLE MOVEMENTS IN MOBILITY
HALO Vehicles, Hyperscreens Next Generation Drive. CES always brings along with it a range of forward-looking vision work. Below are a few concepts and advancements that stood out from the 2021 CES events, which were held virtually this year due to the Coronavirus.
Originally published: January 31, 2021
GM Keynote and Cadillac Halo Vehicles
Cadillac Halo eVTOL and autonomous people mover
This year Cadillac and GM offered future visions of air and ground mobility. See more in the GM Exhibit Zero keynote. VTOL offerings from Liliam, Kitty Hawk, and several others are starting to take off. The entire VTOL segment is achieving more funding and public awareness. With companies like GM jumping on board, things will likely achieve more lift over the next few years. Many experts agree that it is far easier to produce autonomous air vehicles than those intended for ground use. Keeping these high-flying visions grounded in reality, advancements in fuel cells, battery technology, and air space regulation will be essential.
The Mercedes-Benz UX Hyperscreen
Mercedes-Benz MBUX Hyperscreen
The trend toward using full-width displays was further reinforced by Mercedes-Benz's debut of its MBUX Hyperscreen. It uses a “zero layer” approach that places content within easy reach rather than under a menu structure. Pioneered in large part by Tesla, it will be interesting to see if this interface approach continues to be taken up by other automotive manufacturers as they have more display surface area to work with. More attention is being paid to passenger-side user experiences as displays become more affordable.
BMW Next Generation iDrive
BWM’s next generation iDrive
BWM introduced its soon to be launched next-generation iDrive experience. The wider display trend continues here too, along with the integration of latest-generation connectivity and intelligent personal assistance. Hard to believe it has been 20 years since the initial version debuted back in the 2001 in the 7 Series (E65).
MORE MOVEMENT
Lucid Air Debuts Television Advertisement Campaign
Lucid introduces its first nationwide televised advertisements this month highlighting their luxury electric sedan the Lucid Air. The future may not be what we expected after all.
GM Redesigns
Its Logo
GM debuted a redesign of its corporate logo to reinforce its zero mission (zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion).
As part of their “Everybody In” campaign, they have also featured Malcolm Gladwell, author of : the Tipping Point to highlight the moment the company is in as it transitions to electrified vehicle design and production.
More via The Detroit News
Trump Pardons Anthony Levandowski
Levandowski, a former Google engineer, pleaded guilty to stealing secret technology related to self-driving cars from the company before becoming the head of Uber’s rival unit. In August, a judge in San Francisco sentenced Levandowski to 18 months in prison but said he could enter custody once the Covid-19 pandemic has subsided.
The judge, William Alsup, who has been involved in Silicon Valley litigation for nearly five decades, described Levandowski’s conviction as the “biggest trade secret crime I have ever seen”. He has been pardoned.
View the full list of Trump pardons
Source: The Guardian.
GM Introduces BrightDrop Service
As part of their Exhibit Zero keynote at CES this year, GM shared their vision of connected and electrified products and services that are built to help improve first to last-mile delivery operations. They are developing a range of solutions tailored to individual business needs.
The BrightDrop fleet will have an electrified palette (EP1 )for warehouse use, a mid-distance transport, and the BrightDrop EV 600, a larger electrified delivery truck. A rapid load vehicle concept that could distribute EP1s was also shared.
Take a closer look at the BrightDrop Vision.
Image credits: GM, Mercedes-Benz, BMW