SEOUL, KOREA - The car is no longer a mere means of transport. Vehicles packed with various kinds of cutting-edge technologies are evolving into smart cars that vie with smart phones to swiftly permeate through drivers' everyday life.
Such a trend was also witnessed at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2013), held in Las Vegas from January 8 through 11, 2013. To CES visitors' surprise, the most expensive white goods that were on display at the world's largest electronics exhibition (CES 2013) were not large smart TV manufactured by global electronics giants like Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.
The priciest exhibits at the CES 2013 were futuristic concept cars, which clearly highlighted the recent trend towards tech-heavy cars that come with as varied features as up-to-date home appliances. The auto industry is one of the earliest adopters of information technologies (IT). As the advancement of wireless communications technologies has translated to the application of mobile technologies to vehicles, cars are getting smarter day after day.
Eight global auto brands including Hyundai, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Audi, Toyota and Lexus graced the CES 2013 with their state-of-the-art smart cars that fully embraced IT such as "infortainment (Information + Entertainment)" and "telematics (a wireless Internet service for cars)."
An official from the Hyundai Motor Company mentioned, "Cars have long since become less of a mere means of transport. Cars will get smarter and smarter in the way smart phones have revolutionized our daily lives." People will be given opportunity to get a glimpse of the newest technologies based on IT convergence at the upcoming Seoul Motor Show 2013, scheduled to run for 10 days from March 29 to April 7. Global automakers that showcased their concept cars at the CES 2013 have confirmed their participation in Seoul Motor Show 2013.
Smart Cars Lead 2013 Auto Trends
The most attention-grabbing at the CES 2013 was "futuristic self-driving cars" which actually do the parking and take over for drivers when drivers hit stop and go traffic by taking advantage of built-in GPS systems and sensors. Some autonomous driving technologies have already trickled down into the cars people are driving at the moment- for instance, lane departure warnings, anti-collision warnings and automatic driving systems.
Hyundai paraded a "driver state monitoring system," one of its futuristic smart car concept technologies while Lexus and Audi showed off their self-driving cars. At the CES 2013, Lexus unveiled a high-tech, self-driving "Lexus LS" that comes with advanced safety features such as active safety systems to help avoid crashes and an anti-collision system. And Audi debuted a driverless concept car that serves as a personal valet parker: once the driver remotely controls the car with a tap of an app, it actually finds its own parking space and parks itself. "Connectivity" between smart devices and cars and "telematics" that grafts communications functions onto cars have basked in great attention for two consecutive years.
Hyundai also introduced an "office on the move," a futuristic car concept that exploits IT to help drivers take care of their desk work while driving. Hyundai flaunted a total of 14 new technologies in three key areas including its driver state monitoring system, the second-generation voice recognition technology (which is soon to be commercialized) and Blue Link (Hyundai's innovative telematics solution).
Seoul Motor Show 2013 Epitomizes Ongoing Trends in the Global Auto Industry
Viewing 2013 as the starting year for auto-IT convergence, auto experts have forecast that a myriad of changes and new attempts will arise down the road. Korean auto fans are expected to get a hands-on experience with such changes at Seoul Motor Show 2013.
Also, 2013 Telematics Forum (Smart Road Smart Vehicle 2013), slated to be held on the sidelines of Seoul Motor Show 2013, will allow the Seoul Motor Show crowd to closely read such trends. The main topic for discussion at 2013 Telematics Forum, to be crafted in tandem with recent trends in the global auto industry, is "Cooperative Mobility."
The latest developments in the connected vehicles projects, carried out by the US, the EU and Japan, and new telematics technologies that are being developed by China will be announced. In addition, Korea's smart highway R&D project and policies, drawn up by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs of Korea to support the development of C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems) technologies, will also be introduced at the forum.
