The 2015 International CES kicked off in Las Vagas yesterday. It is poised to be a record-breaking show with more than 3,600 exhibitors across the largest show floor in history with more than 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space. This breaks last year’s previously set record of 2.06 million net square feet. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, the 2015 International CES runs until this Friday.
The International CES is the epicenter for the ever-expanding global consumer technology community, showcasing the promise and power of technology and serving as a platform for all innovators, big and small.
Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars delivers keynote on car of the future
On Sunday evening, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the Board, Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, took the keynote stage and discussed the car of the future, saying that, “Mercedes aims to develop truly superhuman autonomous driving ability” before he unveiled the company’s new concept car F 015.
The concept car of the future, according to Zetsche, can drive itself, has seats that can swivel to face each other, and possesses a computerized brain to watch pedestrian traffic. The aim of the concept car is space, time and privacy with the interior featuring gesture and eye tracking control with free floating driving instruments.
Zetsche did admit that there are legal hurdles ahead such as liability in the case of an unavoidable accidents, but said those are “industry issues that we must resolve with a joint effort.” He further explained that “quality time and private space will be the true luxury items of the future,” and that these concepts will help us to achieve “the dream of freedom and mobility.”
CES Unveiled
Innovation, connectivity and cross-industry collaborations defined this year’s preshow press events starting with CES Unveiled Las Vegas, the official media event of the 2015 CES, on Sunday night. This year’s event featured companies debuting the latest in automotive electronics, fitness and sports, health and bio tech, immersive entertainment, Internet of Things, personal security, smart home tech, sensors, 3D printing, wearables and unmanned systems. Major Press Day product announcements included:
Bosch – BME 680, world’s first sensor measuring humidity, air pressure and gas; Dremel, the only UL certified 3D printer on the market; and Njon, an integrated Ebike with smartphone app and online portal
Child Angel – Wearable device for children that enables parents to track movements via Wi-fi and GPS, in an effort to avoid being lost in crowded public places
Keyfree – Digital Key, uses phone as vehicle key to remotely start/unlock car
Mobilehelp and Honeywell – Mobile Vitals, a small wearable device that provides long-term vitals monitoring; Seymour, unified platform to pull health data and secure communication between health provider and patient
Sharp – AQUOS Crystal, a frameless smartphone; the first spec’d 85” 8K LCD; the world’s largest 4K Ultra HD LCD commercial display; and free form LCD display, allowing displays of virtually any shape to be integrated into consumer products
Valeo – Cruse 4U, automated driving technology that can automatically accelerate, decelerate and stay in lane according to traffic conditions
Volkswagen – Golf R Touch Concept Car, incorporates gesture control to reduce driver distractions while attaining personalization and intuitive operation in the car; Trained parking, future Park Assist drives into garage semi-automatically
