Electric cars are getting more and more sci-fi.
Chi Heng Observation Series No.154
As a global technology vane, CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) at the beginning of each year is a stage for technology companies to showcase their latest technologies, and on January 9, CES 2024 opens in Las Vegas, USA. This gives us a glimpse into technology trends in 2024 and beyond. At last year's CES 2023, electric vehicles and the metaverse were the absolute protagonists, and at this year's CES 2024, electric vehicles have traces of the ebb and flow, while the metaverse has simply disappeared and been replaced by the ubiquitous "AI". The drama of the change in the direction of science and technology can be seen.
Nansen Nisser, head of electric vehicles and energy storage at the Boston Consulting Group, said, "The last time CES was like an electric car show, this time it doesn't seem to be that way anymore. "However, although there are fewer new energy vehicles on display, there is no shortage of car-related technologies. It is reported that there are more than 4,000 exhibitors at this year's CES, including 311 Fortune 500 companies and more than 1,100 Chinese exhibitors. There are more than 700 exhibitors in the automotive or mobility field, including OEMs such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, supply chain giants such as Bosch and Continental, as well as new players in the automotive industry such as Sony, LG and BOE. According to statistics, there are a total of 89 exhibitors related to China's automotive industry and mobility technology, such as Xpeng Huitian exhibiting a land-air integrated flying car, Hesai Technology released a 512-line ultra-high-definition ultra-long-range lidar AT512, BOE launched an ultra-large Oxide intelligent cockpit, etc., and all of them are trying to stuff AI models into their cars.
Some media commented, "Although electric vehicles have left the spotlight for the time being, CES is still full of discussions about the future of electric vehicles." ”
Probably due to the popularity of electric vehicles last year, the number of cars at this CES has dropped significantly, and there are not many concept cars, among which Kia announced three PBV concept models, Honda released two "Honda 0" series pure electric concept cars "SALOON" and "SPACE-HUB", Mercedes-Benz brought the CLA concept car that was unveiled in October last year, and so on.
Among them, the concept car that has attracted the most attention is undoubtedly the AFEELA in collaboration between Sony and Honda. The AFEELA concept car is also the "old fritters" of CES, which was first announced at CES in 2020, and made its debut at CES last year. That said, the car still has a lot of attention, not only because Sony is really deeply involved in electric vehicles for the first time, but also because of the "mouth cannon". In October last year, Izumi Kawanishi, Sony's managing director and executive vice president and senior vice president of Sony's artificial intelligence robotics business, "opened fire" on Chinese electric vehicles: "Chinese electric vehicles are just rearranging smartphone icons, and there are no technical surprises. No matter what the outside world thinks, I will not take back my words. "To put it so harshly, does Sony Honda have the confidence to do this? AFEELA is indeed "fancy", and when it debuts, a Sony PS5 controller controls the car and drives the booth. However, the question is, if you're all sitting in the car, is it still necessary to use the controller? Of course, you can also use the PS5 controller to play games on AFEELA's car screen. The car is equipped with an ultra-long integrated central control screen, integrated Sony film and television, music, games and other entertainment family buckets, and uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon digital chassis, as well as Epic's Unreal Engine 5.
The front of the AFEELA is equipped with a Media Bar display, which can be used to display the car logo, charging progress, etc. The car will also support Level 2 driver assistance for urban driving scenarios. Sony Honda said that the first AFEELA model will be sold by pre-order in the United States in the first half of 2025, with deliveries starting in the spring of 2026.
To be honest, it is difficult to say whether China's electric vehicles are really as Sony Honda said "no technology", but in terms of the technical level displayed by the AFEELA concept car, at least Sony Honda is not necessarily qualified to say this.
Today's electric vehicles are inseparable from the central control screen, in order to make this screen look better, more useful, and not to be called a "big tablet", manufacturers are also racking their brains. The screen manufacturers LG and BOE are relatively conservative and are still making a fuss about the regular screen. LG brought a P2P (Pillar to Pillar) display solution, a 12.3-inch P-OLED instrument cluster and a 34-inch P-OLED center console to form a huge screen across the instrument panel, and two 17-inch foldable OLED screens in the rear. BOE, which has only begun to make full efforts in the automotive industry in recent years, has launched a variety of on-board display products and solutions such as Oxide, 8K, BD Cell, MLED, and OLED. The 45-inch 8K screen on the Geely Galaxy E8 that extends from the main driver to the passenger seat, as well as the Aston Martin DB X 707 equipped with BD Cell technology, are BOE's latest technologies in the field of in-vehicle screens.
In addition, BOE also launched the world's first ultra-large Oxide intelligent cockpit, as well as a variety of cutting-edge display technologies represented by smart vehicles. LG and BOE are both large screen manufacturers, and their display technology is the world's leading level, so their solutions also focus on technical content and display effects. Manufacturers who don't have so much technology accumulation on the screen can only find another way, such as Continental's crystal central display. According to Continental, this crystal central display, which is the world's first high-end automotive display fully integrated into the crystal, features a frameless and translucent exterior design, courtesy of the luxury brand Swarovski. It's really not practical, but the sense of luxury must be full. Of course, it's not entirely on the surface, as the crystal central display is only 10 inches, but it uses the most advanced MicroLED technology available today (the same as Apple's Vision Pro), so it can achieve extremely high brightness and contrast. And, because the microLED panel that generates the image is embedded in the crystal body, the illusion of a free-floating display of the content is created. BMW is no longer satisfied with the car screen, but has taken a completely different path - AR glasses. BMW says they can use XREAL's new Air 2 Ultra augmented reality glasses to visualize navigation commands, hazard warnings, entertainment content, charging station information, and parking conditions. And the Air 2 Ultra isn't a concept item, it's priced at $699 and will be released in March of this year.
However, this is not exclusive to BMW. XREAL is a Chinese AR startup, and they have an earlier partner in China who did similar features, NIO. Previously, XREAL and NIO jointly developed NIO Air AR Glasses, AR glasses, which combine the vehicle-side immersive sound system and rich content ecological resources, allowing users to immerse themselves in movie-watching, game entertainment, music and other content. At this CES, a NIO ES8 was parked at XREAL's booth.
At present, AR glasses are still in the exploration stage in the automotive industry, and there are not many car companies following up, and it is unknown whether they will become an important display method for electric vehicles like AR-HUD in the future.
The finale of this year's CES is naturally the ubiquitous AI, if electric vehicles are the most popular hardware in recent years, then AI is undoubtedly the most popular software. Naturally, the combination of the two is a natural one. As the most important hardware vendor in the AI era (and probably not one of them), NVIDIA held 14 presentations at this CES, covering hot topics such as generative AI, metaverse, robotics, smart cars, game design, and more. According to Nvidia, the application of AI in entertainment, the Internet, and media will show explosive growth in 2024, and generative AI will reshape the future of mobility and the automotive industry. In terms of car companies, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have invariably chosen to make a fuss about voice assistants. One of the most obvious upgrades to Mercedes-Benz's new MB.OS in-vehicle system at CES is its new virtual assistant that leverages generative artificial intelligence and proprietary large language models to provide more natural voice feedback and conversations, detailed routine-based suggestions, and emotions that echo with the driver. For example, if you say "I'm hungry" to it, it will recommend nearby restaurants, and it will also sift through restaurant menus and user reviews, etc. In addition, the AI system can help reserve parking spaces in advance based on the driver's daily route or schedule calendar events based on road conditions. In addition, it adjusts its functions according to the driver's state of mind, and if the driver is frustrated when detected, its prompts and reactions will be shorter and more direct. If the owner is in a good mood, the voice of the virtual assistant will be more cheerful.
BMW's new generation of BMW intelligent personal assistant is developed with the support of Amazon's Alexa large language model, which can provide more humanized assistance for drivers and passengers and answer questions about the vehicle in a timely manner. Volkswagen has gone further and more resolutely in the matter of AI large models on the car, and the starting point is large-scale loading. At this CES, Volkswagen showcased its first batch of models that integrate ChatGPT artificial intelligence large language models and IDA voice assistants, in addition to the familiar Tiguan, Passat, Golf and other fuel models, there are also ID.7, ID.5 and other new energy models. Volkswagen said that from the second quarter of this year, Volkswagen's cars will become the first car brand to equip ChatGPT as standard in production models. Volkswagen's approach is to combine ChatGPT with its latest infotainment system, the IDA voice assistant, through the Cerence Chat Pro intelligent voice platform. According to Volkswagen, the integration of the two will enable many new functions that go beyond traditional voice control, such as ChatGPT for drivers to adjust the air conditioner, consult navigation maps or answer frequently asked questions. Volkswagen also said that in the future, IDA voice assistants will allow users to access AI databases at any time and obtain large amounts of information through voice interaction while driving. When using the ChatGPT feature, drivers don't need to create a new account, install a new app, or sign up for ChatGPT, just say "Hey IDA" or press the voice button on the steering wheel to activate the voice assistant. Once activated, the IDA on board will also automatically determine whether to prioritize vehicle functions, search for destinations, or adjust the temperature of the air conditioner.
Automakers' enthusiasm for AI in the car also reflects a trend in which electric vehicles are becoming more and more like smartphones – driving is only the most basic function of electric vehicles, and its importance may give way to more software features, just as calls and texts are now in smartphones. Jack Weast, vice president and general manager of Intel Automotive, also summed it up, saying that the automotive industry is now facing a number of unique challenges as it tries to cram more complex computers into cars to cope with software developments. "It is believed that the car will be the next great software platform. We're bringing AI into the car."
The era of AI and electric vehicles may come together.
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