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What’s that familiar saying? “What happens in Vegas… redefines the future of the automotive industry.”

Yes, something like that. Not exactly the phrase you may have been thinking, just the same, CES 2024 was less than a month ago, and reverberations are rippling throughout the industry and beyond. The event offered an impressive showcase of advanced technology converging with automotive ingenuity, shedding further light on what’s possible when software increasingly informs mobility.

 

Call it collective vision

For those minding mobility, determining the evolution of the Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) took centerstage, and remains a challenge shared at every level of the automotive industry and its surrounding ecosystem. Wide-ranging collaboration among industry players including those from different sectors remains the best path forward.

And while specific big-name OEMs were noticeably missing from CES, the truth is, the competitive landscape is changing so rapidly, the possibilities are ripe for everyone. The absence of these significant OEMs sparks speculation on whether they are strategically channeling efforts into developing a robust SDV platform for future innovations. Will they be back next year? We’ll see.

That said, the overall maturity of automotive tech solutions was impressive, representing an interesting departure from your typical brand of CES flash and flare. We saw a shift toward more near-term production-ready solutions rather than simply far-fetched eye-catching prototypes. This hints at a theme for 2024; a pragmatic path outweighs investing in a possible mirage.

 

Human-centered, AI-enhanced

Odds are, you’re already aware artificial intelligence (AI) was omnipresent at CES 2024, permeating every industry with the chatter of its transformative potential. Was it a bit overhyped? That’s certainly possible. However, we are in the pre-dawn era of AI, and its very popular subset, generative AI (GenAI). Nonetheless, its impact on automotive technology cannot be overstated, and this is only just beginning.

GenAI and Large Language Models (LLMs) present a promising avenue for enhancing interaction between users and machines. This applies both to end consumers engaging with their vehicles through chatbots, as well as automotive engineers and technicians utilizing AI tools to streamline the development and maintenance of these machines. AI’s role in the automotive industry will undoubtedly be a lasting one.

An excellent example from our booth was the next-gen digital cockpit demo featuring our recently announced Theming Engine, which incorporated ChatGPT along with GenAI image creating capabilities for dynamic theme-appropriate colors and wallpapers. The next-gen digital cockpit also received a big mention in SBD Automotive’s CES 2024 flash report, under ‘what impressed the SBD team the most?’:

“I was impressed by the Elektrobit Next Gen Digital Cockpit. This demonstrated a great AI use case in personalizing the user experience. This allows users to control widgets and display themes using their theming engine.”

Our Theming Engine is a groundbreaking coordination across all cockpit display surfaces and empowers designers to effortlessly brand, localize, and personalize Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) for the duration of ownership.

The Theming Engine supports custom triggers for theme changes, expedites A/B testing, and caters to regional variations, ensuring flexibility in meeting diverse consumer preferences and quickly adapting to evolving market conditions. This opens possibilities for automotive manufacturers, fleet operators, and mobility service providers, who are all striving to enhance consumer experiences and build lasting brand loyalty.

 

The surrounding SDV ecosystem

CES 2024 also offered a peek into critical components to the SDV ecosystem. Among these were cloud-enabled virtualization platforms, designed to alleviate friction in automotive software and hardware development. Another area of increasing visibility found at the event: cybersecurity solutions, emphasizing the necessity for dynamic and sound security measures integrated from the platform’s inception and maintained throughout the vehicle’s life.

The broader CES landscape featured a diverse array of safety-centric and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) technologies such as LIDAR-based perception systems, high-definition mapping solutions, and external vehicle displays to communicate with pedestrians.

The convergence of these evolving technologies within the broader SDV ecosystem make for an exciting future, and will only continue to thrive and mature along with the rest of the platform that these automotive OEMs are building out.

 

Elektrobit booth

Hosting a booth at CES means more than simply having physical presence; it’s a strategic move placing us at the epicenter of global innovation within the automotive industry. The energy surrounding our booth this year was electric, and let show goers witness our commitment to pushing the boundaries of automotive technology.

We understand it’s in this atmosphere where connections and collaborations are sparked, and we work to solidify our position as a driving force in the ever-evolving landscape of technology and mobility. At CES we demonstrated how we’re supporting OEMs and Tier 1s through the development of essential automotive software platform needs (virtualization, security, and safety to name a few) that establish the SDV of the future. Through all aspects of the SDV, we’ve got you covered.

 

Game on!

The stakes are high, and there’s a lot brewing within the automotive industry today. It seems clear where the trends are heading; however, the ever-changing nature of the automotive industry introduces elements of unpredictability requiring constant adaptation.

For the vehicle of the future to evolve and adapt to this ever-changing landscape, a robust platform must be created that can continue to evolve over time. We at Elektrobit are working to enable this dream to become a reality for many of our customers on many different levels.