CES is an annual trade show held in Las Vegas that focuses on innovation.
I love following all the gaming and tech conventions and trade shows that happen throughout the year, but I think my favorite has to be CES — the Consumer Electronics Show. CES is held in the city of Las Vegas every year and is the place for major companies to unveil their latest and greatest creations.
The show doesn’t center on video games, but instead on innovation. Although there are many great releases, car technology seems to steal the show every year. Even if you aren’t a car nut, the most recent releases are sure to excite you.
Mercedes-Benz announced its 2017 E-Class, which will be the first standard-production car to receive an autonomous license in Nevada. According to the news release, “To allow autonomous driving functions to be tested, test vehicles previously had to be elaborately equipped with special hardware and software. This included additional sensors, modified steering and an adapted ESP. That is no longer the case with the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The standard-production vehicle is already extensively equipped with intelligent technology. This means that, for testing purposes, it is necessary merely to make some smaller software modifications to the DRIVE PILOT control unit.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="58423dfc-92e8-11e5-8cb3-a3bf1f88e1f7"}}
The company also unveiled 'Mercedes me,' which is their take at following in the footsteps of smartphone makers. By registering with Mercedes me, it gives the company access to your smartphone. It will then tailor its home screen to topics relevant to the driver. According to the company, “registering with Mercedes me gives you access to exclusive life-enhancing offers.”
My beloved Ford Motor Company also had an interesting announcement, the DJI Developer Challenge. The company paired with drone-maker DJI to create a “rapidly deployable surveying system for use by the United Nations in emergency zones.”
I don’t know the full system, but it seems that a user could control the drone from the Ford vehicle (an F-150 was shown in the video). That would be used to deliver food, rescue supplies or other things to emergency zones.
“The technology could ally United Nations first responders to earthquakes or tsunamis to quickly deploy drones able to survey and map the hardest-hit areas — all from the cab of an F-150,” the release stated.
That is a challenge, so the creators are asking for submissions to create the rescue system — and are offering a reward of $100,000! The finals of the competition will be held at the end of August.
The final standout for me was Corning, which is a glass-maker. Its car concept is to have the ENITRE dashboard as a screen. That was part of its “Day Made of Glass” exhibit where it showed five interactive surface concepts: a connected car, a retail window, a collaboration surface, a kitchen hub and an infotainment wall.
Corning also wants to use Gorilla Glass as a windshield (that’s the stuff your phone screen is made out of). I’m a little apprehensive about that one — if my windshield cracked as easily as my phone screen, that would not be good.
Sophie Kruse is a senior majoring in journalism. What was your favorite thing from CES 2016? Email her at sk139011@ohio.edu.
