Mercedes-Benz concept at CES 2015. Image courtesy of itp.net
Automakers—10, to be exact—used the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NV this week to show off auto-tech innovations for 2015 and beyond.
Vehicle manufacturers continued to innovate the technological capabilities of our daily drivers, pushing toward a future where cars drive and park themselves and accept our commands through voice or hand gestures or a tap on our phones or watches.
Touch and display screens continue to be a focal point for designers, and a major theme at CES this year was making them function more like the phones and tablets we’re all accustomed to, including pinching, tapping and swiping in the ways so many mobile device users already know.
It’s 2015, and our cars aren’t flying like Back to the Future 2 promised. But. Parking your BMW in a busy and crowded parking garage by tapping a button on your phone?
Color us amazed.
Here are five innovations that caught our attention at CES:
Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion
A hydrogen-powered, self-driving luxurious moving lounge with a bunch of video displays in the door panels? Not a bad way to commute in the morning.
BMW Hand Motion Controls
Like Tom Cruise in Minority Report, drivers will be turning on stereos, changing the station, and cranking the volume with a few hand motions.
BMW Remote Valet Parking Assistant
BMW showed how their new Remote Valet Parking Assistant would pilot a car autonomously through a busy parking lot until it found an open spot. When the driver wanted the vehicle to return to him or her? They simply punch a button or two on their smartphone. Very cool.
Audi Virtual Cockpit
Audi’s Virtual Cockpit lets you turn the dash in front of the driver into just about every useful thing you could imagine from behind the wheel.
Volvo Voice Control
According to USA Today (story link is below), you say “I’m cold,” and your heat turns on. If we say: “We’re poor,” do you think cash will come out of the center console? Yeah, we do, too.
What is the tech innovation you most want to see in your daily driver? Let us know in the comments below.
Also, be sure to check out all that CES had to offer the auto industry, but checking out fantastic stories from USA Today, MSN Autos and TechCrunch.
From USA Today:
Cars drive to the fore at annual CES tech confab
From MSN Autos:
Cool new car tech at CES 2015
From TechCrunch:
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