Future’s here: Auto mode on

FOR years, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a television and home appliances-first convention. While virtual assistants and power outages at the event dominated the conversation around this year’s CES, when it came to out-and-out showstoppers, snazzy wheels overshadowed everything else.

Self-driving cars, improved connectivity to the internet and other platforms and a huge push towards electric vehicles were the over-arching themes. While this is the general industry trend, we saw it fleshed out in much more awe-inspiring forms.

As a company made up largely of former Apple and BWM employees, a company called Byton presented an electric car that looked uber-futuristic.  Aimed at taking on Tesla starting 2019, it offers a 49-inch screen, controlled by voice, gesture and touch instead of the dashboard. Heck, there’s even a touchscreen in the middle of the steering wheel!

Toyota unveiled its concept of self-driving mini-buses that can act as a store, delivery unit, offices and even homes with e-Palette. Hyundai launched a hydrogen fuel cell SUV called Nexo FCEV and its sister firm Kia dropped an electric version of the Niro SUV. And then there was a truckload of tech companies flaunting the 

latest in in-car interfaces, self-driving technologies, communication, mapping and electric charging solutions.

   — Ashis Dutta Roy