CES2021 Report: This Year’s Technology Highlights

　Below is a summary of technology trends in the automobile industry this year, including a look at the CES2021 event held from Monday, January 11 to Thursday, January 14.

Overview of CES2021 　

As stated in its name, CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is an exhibition centered on electronic devices. In recent years, however, mobility technology has become a cornerstone of what is now a beginning-of-the-year event with exhibits and participation by many companies in the automobile industry. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the event completely around this year, however. CES2021 was held fully online, with exhibiting companies dropping 60% from about 4,500 last year to 1,893 this year. Virtual visitors were 73,000 this year, also a 60% decline from last year’s 175,000 venue visitors. While it is undeniable that the event has shrunk in terms of numbers, some participants expressed preference for the virtual event, whhich offers the ability to visit exhibits repeatedly, over the the physical hardships of the real-world event.

　Looking at companies by exhibit category, a general feature for this year was that the IoT/sensors category accounted for the greatest number at over 600 exhibits, or about one-third of the total. The digital health category accounted for over 400 exhibits. In the customary Innovation Awards, the health and wellness field stood out by garnering 43 of the 386 awards. This may be reflective of the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards related to mobility 　

Twenty of the above-mentioned innovation commendations were “Best of Innovation” awards. In the area of mobility, this award went to Waymo for its 5th generation autonomous driving system(*1). Announced in March 2020, this system is currently undergoing demonstration experiments in the Jaguar I-Pace. With technologies including on-board LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), high-performance cameras, and radar, the system’s improved performance now enables 360-degree monitoring around the vehicle and identification of the distance, direction, size, and other particulars of objects up to 300 meters away.

In the field of autonomous driving, Kodiak’s autonomous driving system for long-distance trucks (*2) and PlusAI’s autonomous driving system for heavy-duty trucks (*3) won Honoree Awards. The automation of logistics has joined the transport of people in attracting attention. In addition to the above, awards were given for interesting technologies including three awards to Continental for its rear-view system for trailers, speakerless audio, and long-range radar for autonomous driving (*4), and an award to Israeli startup Vayyar for its 4D-imaging sensor utilizing high-precision millimeter-wave radar (*5).

General Motors 　

One small disappointment was the very small number of exhibits by automotive OEMs. This presence is sorely missed, as the OEMs had been making a good showing so far even as motor shows have been in decline. Among the OEMs, GM attracted attention with a keynote speech and energetic presentation (*6). Summarizing the main points:

The company changed its traditional logo to a new design, bringing the image of electrification to the fore.
By 2025, the company will invest 27 billion dollars (about 2.8 trillion yen) in electrification and autonomous driving.
The company will bring about 30 BEV models to the market by 2025
The company has announced other electrified models including Cadillac Lyriq (early 2021), Bolt EV (2021), Hummer EV (late 2021), and the crossover EV Celestiq (release date to be announced).
Next-generation EV platform (announced in March 2020)
Ultium Battery jointly developed with LG Chem
Brightdrop: A new business that offers corporate customers an ecosystem of electric vehicles and connected products. It will offer logistics companies an ecosystem of products, software, and services powered entirely by electricity, through to the last mile.
Cadillac Halo portfolio: A concept model consisting of a personal self-driving car that moves through autonomous driving on land and in the air, as GM’s first electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

Signs of new developments 　

Sony again exhibited its Vision-S electric vehicle model announced at CES2020 last year, and announced that demonstration experiments on public roads in Austria have been ongoing from the end of 2020. While Sony is undecided on commercialization of Vision-S itself, the company has released new specifications and has boosted the total number of sensors to 40 (from 33 in the model from CES2020) as the model undergoes what appears to be steady evolution. In a matter not directly related to CES2021, just before the opening of the event came the sudden news that Apple was in discussions with Hyundai over production of Apple Car. Although there was no definitive information, the news heated things up outside the venue (*7). 　Buzz about the entry of IT platform companies into the automobile business has been unceasing since then, This is a topic I would like to revisit on this page in the future.

Summary 　

As a look back on the event as a whole, CTA (Consumer Technology Association), the organizer of CES, named Digital Health, Robotics & Drones, 5G Connectivity, Digital Transformation, Vehicle Technology, and Smart Cities as its six “2021 Tech Trends to Watch.” 　

Keeping further points in mind, such as response to environmental problems and decarbonization in particular, and “Intelligent of things” (the equipping of varied things with AI) in connection to autonomous driving technology, I hope to closely watch this year’s technology trends.