Bosch is showcasing a number of connected functions and assistance systems at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, led by a show car with plenty of visual appeal.
The concept features electronic displays filling up the dashboard and central console area, and each of the panels provide information and interactivity with the driver. It’s quite reminiscent of that seen on the Mercedes-Benz F 015 Luxury in Motion study, except here the presentation is more segmented and geared towards front occupants.
The multi-info displays offer plenty in the way of assistance to the driver, such as keeping tabs of appointments in a diary. If say an appointment is cancelled, the car can automatically indicate the route to the next appointment listed.
Connected to a smart home, the system can also enable household functions such as heating or security systems to be operated at any time, and handle all aspects of infotainment. The large-scale display can also offer safety-related info. For example, if a pedestrian approaches from the right, a lighting sequence is triggered to alert the driver.
The company is also showing a new touchscreen at the CES. The new haptic feedback unit can generate different surface textures, allowing elements to be felt on the display akin to tactile physical button imprints on a surface. The screen generates the feel of rough, smooth, and patterned surfaces to indicate different buttons and functions. To make a selection, a button needs to be pressed more firmly.
What makes this special is that the touchscreen looks no different from an ordinary display, and yet it gives users the impression that they are pressing real buttons, the company says.
Bosch is also showing a new cloud-based wrong-way driver alert at the event, which lets drivers know of any danger just ten seconds after it arises. A cloud-based function compares actual, anonymised vehicle movement on freeways with the permitted direction of travel, and if there is a discrepancy, wrong-way drivers are warned of their error almost immediately.
The company says that the pure software module can be integrated at low cost into smartphone apps such as Bosch’s myDriveAssist or existing infotainment systems, and from this year, will be available as a cloud service.
Automated driving is also explored via a highway pilot system, which assumes all the driver’s tasks and responsibilities on freeways. – Bosch will be showcasing the systems and sensors necessary for automated journeys in another demo vehicle at the CES.
Also on the list is a new function called automated valet parking. This one goes beyond the ability to help find a vacant space in a parking garage – it enables cars to park themselves. Drivers can simply leave the car at the entrance to the parking garage, and using a smartphone app, can instruct their car to find a space for itself. When ready to leave, they call the car back to the drop-off point in the same way.
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