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Kia AI tailors vehicle interiors to passengers’ emotions
Kia is preparing for a future with autonomous cars and at CES it will be showing off its Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving System, or R.E.A.D. The company says its AI-based system can adapt vehicle interiors to a passenger's emotional state by using sensors to monitor their facial expressions, heart rate and electrodermal activity. Based on its readings, the R.E.A.D. System personalizes the cabin interior, taking into account all five senses. Part of the system also includes music-response vibration seats, which match seat vibrations to the frequencies of whatever music is being played in the cabin. The seats can also provide massages and haptic alerts connected to the vehicle's driver-assist system.
Infiniti unveils its electric QX Inspiration concept
Infiniti is surprisingly late to the EV game, considering what its rivals are doing and the fact that parent Nissan has been making the Leaf since 2010. It just unveiled the QX Inspiration, a concept rather than a production car, that it will show off in detail at the 2019 North American International Auto Show later in January. The vehicle design, teased last month, represents the future (and platform) for Infiniti's electrified program.
Vauxhall's GTX concept teases the future of mass-market EVs
Vauxhall and Opel, the Anglo-German car maker, joins a number of companies suddenly rushing to embrace electrification. As part of a wider shift away from gas-powered vehicles, it has built the GTX, an all-electric concept that serves as a mission statement for its EVs. You won't see this car popping up in showrooms, but this is the shape, broadly, of things to come.
Peugeot's E-Legend concept EV is a futuristic throwback
Whatever image you might have of French cars, Peugeot's E-Legend concept EV is here to destroy that. Unveiled at the Paris Auto Show, the throwback vehicle is inspired by Peugeot's 504 Coupe, but the bulging rear fender and particularly the front end nod to '60s American muscle cars. While the rear end taillights have a vintage French look, they've been updated with thin, sharp-looking looking LED lights. In other words, this is one of the tightest EVs we've seen yet.
This is what Telltale's 'Stranger Things' game might have looked like
Following the "majority studio closure" of Telltale Games last week, the future of many of its planned projects has been up in the air. Rumors suggest that The Walking Dead: The Final Season has been canceled, incomplete, while The Wolf Among Us 2 has been scrapped entirely. Also on the chopping block is the much-anticipated Netflix partnership for a game version of Stranger Things. And to rub salt into the wound, clips of what the game could have looked like have now emerged on Reddit (admittedly from a random user, but we're pretty sure they're legit -- it'd take a lot of work to mock these up). As you can see, it's a bit of a departure from Telltale's usual artistic style.
The ESA teamed with Nissan to build an off-road astronomy lab
Nissan unveiled its Navara Dark Sky concept vehicle at the Hannover Motor Show this week, and it's a vehicle designed for astronomers. The truck is an enhanced version of the automaker's Navara vehicle and along with including some handy new features, it also has a trailer in tow that carries a powerful PlaneWave telescope. Designed with the European Space Agency, the trailer not only houses the telescope but has a number of features that protect the telescope and help researchers collect and transmit data.
Mercedes self-driving van concept swaps bodies to match its cargo
Self-driving vehicles are useful for hauling both people and cargo, but you can usually only prioritize one of those tasks unless you can afford to buy separate vehicles. Mercedes-Benz might have a solution to the problem: build a machine that can change its role on demand. Its Vision Urbanetic concept van uses a modular body system to switch between people-carrying and cargo duties, with an electric-powered platform underneath.
Infiniti taunts us with another electric race car we can't buy
If you thought the retro-tastic Infiniti Prototype 9 couldn't be improved upon, the automaker thought otherwise. At this year's Pebble Beach automotive event, the larger Prototype 10 made an appearance.
Porsche teases its production electric Mission E, aka the Taycan
Porsche has made no secret of its plans to take on Tesla with its Mission E sports car -- now known as the Taycan -- and after a lot of hype about its proposed specs, we're now a step closer to knowing what it's actually going to look like. Kind of.
Byton's second EV is an autonomous sedan due in 2021
Byton has yet to deliver a single vehicle, but that isn't stopping it from promising more electric cars. As teased in April, the fledgling automaker has unveiled its second EV, the K-Byte Concept sedan. It shares the same platform as the SUV we saw at CES (now called the M-Byte Concept) and, to no one's surprise, is designed with autonomous driving in mind. It'll include a retractable LiDAR system that kicks in during full self-driving scenarios and retracts when space is at a priority, such as when you're parking. The company is aiming for Level 4 autonomy where it can drive all by itself without human input, but only in specific situations.
Mercedes-Benz flaunts its all-electric compact EQA concept
Mercedes has showed off footage of its prototype EQA, the compact EV that's part of its next-generation of EQ electric cars. It first unveiled the A-Class-sized electric car at the Frankfurt Auto Show last year, but it now apparently has a working prototype. It's expected to have a 60 kWh battery pack that will yield a 200 to 250 mile range, and electric drivetrain that will propel it from 0 to 60 mph in around five seconds. A DC quick-charging system will allow you to add 60 miles or so of range in just ten minutes.
Byton teases its second 'experience-driven' vehicle
Byton wowed us at CES back in January with its first autonomous EV concept car, a smart SUV built for passenger comfort. At the Beijing Motor Show, the company teased its second vehicle concept, an electric sedan slated to go into series production in 2021.
Buick's offroad EV concept boasts an ambitious 370-mile range
Buick, a brand not known for adventurous styling, has unveiled an electric concept that, dare I say, actually looks cool. The Enspire crossover is like the love child of a Camaro SS and Cadillac XT5, but it's more about what's under the hood, or wherever they put electric motors and batteries. It packs a 410kW electric powertrain that can take it to 60 mph in four seconds, and a battery that will last up to 370 miles -- pretty ambitious specs, even for a concept that will never be built.
Here's what you missed at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show
This year's Geneva Motor Show seemed to be all about going fast without stopping at the gas pump. Gas-powered vehicles continue to dominate the market, but automakers took the opportunity to showcase their electrified roadmap as they transition from oil to electrons.
Giugiaro's supercar concept EV gives back to the power grid
The Giugiaro Sybilla is a bonkers concept EV with a fighter jet-like sliding canopy, gull-wing doors and screens everywhere, including the doors. But the vehicle from GFG Style, penned by auto design legend Giorgetto Giugiaro, is actually meant as a showcase for sustainable grid technology, believe it or not. It was built for Chinese windmill manufacturer Envision Group to illustrate how electric cars can connect intelligently to homes, businesses and charging stations so they don't overwhelm future electrical grid systems.
Renault’s EZ-GO electric car is ridesharing for the masses
Renault has managed to outdo the craziness of the Mercedes F 015 concept with its own driverless concept electric car, the EZ-GO. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, it's a Level 4 autonomous urban EV with a top speed of just 30MPH. Six passengers enter through the massive front door and can see everything (and be seen) thanks to huge swaths of glass on the sides and roof.
Vivo’s all-screen concept phone hides a pop-up selfie cam
When I think of funky, ambitious smartphones, I don't usually think of the name Vivo. That began to change after seeing a phone with an in-display fingerprint sensor -- the world's first, actually -- a month ago at CES. Now, after playing with the company's APEX FullView concept phone, it's clear that Vivo is more clever than we've given it credit for.
GAC's En Verge concept packs a digital dash and AR for passengers
Chinese automaker GAC is making waves at the North American International Auto Show. "We want you to give us a chance to challenge ourselves," GAC group president Feng Xingya said from the stage, before unveiling GAC's first all-electric concept, the En Verge. The En Verge is a two-door compact crossover SUV. The first thing you'll notice are those massive ports on the front bumper. While they look like they're for cooling, they're actually removable fog lamps. Called G-Torches, they double as flashlights for when you want to do some off-trail exploring. Handy!
Boeing shows its vision for a hypersonic spy aircraft
Lockheed isn't the only one hoping to make a hypersonic spy aircraft. Boeing has provided early details on its own design for a hypersonic tech demonstrator that would lead to a spiritual successor to the SR-71 Blackbird. In some ways, it's a logical extension of the company's X-51A Waverider: the wedge-shaped, twin-tail body is designed to minimize drag while gulping in as much air as possible. It would be about as long as the Blackbird, but its Mach 5-plus top speed would leave the older Mach 3.2 jet far behind.
Razer's fantastical concept projects inform its future
Razer's Project Linda laptop dock might be grounded in reality, but that doesn't mean the company is out of wild ideas for the future. It's just that for this CES, Razer wanted to merge its lightweight Blade Stealth laptop with its recently released smartphone and see how people would react. "We still have the flexibility to do some of the more far-out stuff that everyone loves to see," Marketing Director Kevin Sather reassured. He was talking about Project Christine, the subscription-based modular PC system from 2014. Or last year's laptop with three displays, Project Valerie. While neither of those have come out -- same goes for the showstopping Project Ariana projector -- Razer doesn't see them as a waste. In fact, they're informing the company's future.
