Author: Li Xiangjing.
When the smartwatch reminds me that I've reached 10,000 steps, it's just the beginning of my CES ......
Just shuttling through a few exhibition halls of LVCC, not including the cross-district exhibition halls, gently harvesting tens of thousands of steps, this is the unique experience of everyone who has been to CES.
Today, I am fortunate to come to CES again, hoping to see the trend of the industry from here. After a busy day's first shooting task, I returned to the hotel and began to review today's gains, hoping to share some personal feelings with you.
Home appliance digital companies have turned to the automotive track
Cars are still cars, Sony, Panasonic, Hisense, TCL, etc. have launched automotive products, including intelligent cockpits, chassis, autonomous driving, etc., showing the latest achievements in the fields of electrification and intelligence.
For CES, digital consumer electronics is the main focus, but for CES 2024, it is indeed a year of wind change.
Because what I felt at the venue was that many companies have launched products for the automotive industry, and I was impressed that Hisense and TCL had launched products for automotive cockpit screen displays.
At CES, TCL Huaxing Vehicle Intelligent Cockpit was launched for the first time, bringing a new solution for diversified on-board displays.
There are also Sony, Panasonic and other vehicle products. Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between Sony and Honda, showcased the Afeela electric car.
Afeela has designed an extra-long integrated central control screen inside, and integrates Sony Pictures and TV games, ** games and other entertainment functions. In addition, they partnered with Qualcomm to develop a digital chassis mobility platform powered by Epic Unreal Engine 5.
The electrification and intellectualization of automobiles provide a very good entry point for manufacturers to cross borders, because intelligent cars are changing from the sound and light, such as the recent new domestic cars are innovative enough in terms of lights and screens, and the intelligent cockpit system gradually integrates the sound, light, audio, and touch operation functions in the car.
In this sense, the opportunities for home appliances and digital companies in the transformation of the automobile industry are still very large, which means that the chain of the automobile industry is widening and thickening.
The gorgeous turn of traditional car companies
Of course, car companies are not far behind, such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Hyundai, which have greatly excavated the human-machine interaction in the cockpit and improved the digital experience. With their understanding of vehicles and driving, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai and other car companies also have great potential in the application of digital technology.
For example, in terms of human-computer interaction, BMW uses Xreal Air 2 augmented reality glasses to enhance the driving experience. Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the all-new MBOS in-vehicle system.
Know that know-how is the key in digital transformation, and although the barbarians of the industry will knock on the door, a deep understanding of the automotive industry is very important in driving industrial change.
I am also the owner of new energy vehicles, but I did not choose those new power car manufacturers, but the new energy brands under traditional car companies.
Although software is very important in the trend of connected and intelligent vehicles, hardware is the cornerstone, especially for automobiles, functional safety is the first choice.
Cars need to be fundamentally changed, not those "big sofas and refrigerators", which will improve the owner experience, but the innovation of cars needs to do more at the driving level.
Semiconductor companies are actively active
When the century-old automobile industry ushers in new changes, chip companies play an important role. Because for today's cars, chips have become an essential component, and arguably the most important component.
Nowadays, the intelligent, electrified, and connected transformation of automobiles requires the continuous evolution of the chip industry and technology.
More and more companies are entering the automotive chip market, including not only traditional automotive semiconductor giants such as NXP, Infineon, Renesas, and Texas Instruments, which want to increase R&D and hold their positions. It also includes Intel, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Samsung, Xilinx and other computing and communication semiconductor companies.
At this year's CES, Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, Nvidia, etc. have launched related chip products and solutions around intelligent cockpits and autonomous driving.
For example, at CES, Intel announced plans to acquire Silicon Mobility SAS and launch a new family of AI-enhanced software-defined in-vehicle SoCs. Today, Intel's SoCs are used in more than 50 million vehicles, powering infotainment systems, displays, digital instrument clusters, and more.
At CES, AMD introduced the Versal Edge XA (Automotive-Grade) Adaptive SoC for autonomous driving and the Ryzen Embedded V2000A series processors for the cockpit.
NVIDIA said at CES that Li Auto has selected NVIDIA Drive Thor to power its next-generation vehicle computing platform. At the same time, it was announced that Great Wall, Zeekr, and Xiaomi Auto have adopted the NVIDIA Drive Orin platform in their next-generation autonomous driving systems.
At CES, Qualcomm showcased the Snapdragon Digital Chassis, as well as a new in-vehicle** computing platform that supports digital cockpit and driver assistance features.
Conclusion
Overall, I feel that this year's CES car has become a big hot spot, although the previous CES will also focus on the car, but this time it is the trend of the car that has spread to other electronics industries, not just the original car company chain. For example, display companies develop on-board screen displays, and digital companies develop cockpits.
The car is no longer limited to a means of transportation, but an intelligent mobile terminal. When the wave of intelligence sweeps the automobile industry, the industrial opportunities it contains are huge. Obviously, the automotive industry in the era of intelligence will explode with tremendous energy.