One other CES has come and gone and transportation was nonetheless one of many central actors on one of many world’s largest tech phases. It wasn’t simply electrical automobiles both that captured our consideration at CES 2024.

Firms and startups centered on automated driving, EV charging, software program (and extra particularly AI), sensors, aviation, boats, drones, micromobility — you title it — had been there. And fortunately, so was TechCrunch.

Listed below are a few of the tech themes that stood out to us at CES 2024.

Every little thing electrical

Picture Credit: Kirsten Korosec

The Huge Three U.S. automakers — GM, Ford and Stellantis — might not have had splashy shows and product reveals, however quite a few others had been there serving to cement CES as a significant auto present. Honda, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Sony, Turkey’s Togg and Vinfast all confirmed off electrical ideas and manufacturing automobiles on the occasion.

It wasn’t simply massive established automakers that had a presence at CES 2024 both. Electrification has seeped into each nook of transportation from bikes and e-bikes to go karts, large rigs, boats and plane.

For example, Segway revealed two electrical scooters, the E2 Professional and Superscooter ST1, two e-bikes known as the Segway Xafari and the Segway Xyber in addition to a Segway GoKart Professional 2 that may be related to a PC and used for taking part in racing video games like Forza.

Startups had been additionally in full pressure and could possibly be discovered at quite a lot of CES-related occasions akin to Pepcom and Unveiled. Cleveland, Ohio-based startup Land Power was again with its sporty e-bike that has a swappable battery, whereas Finland’s Verge Bikes confirmed off its Verge TS Extremely, an electrical motorbike with a hubless ring design, superior driver help tech and a powertrain that produces an eye-popping 201 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque. Over in Eureka Park, the place a whole lot of startups arrange store, electrification was additionally current. One startup that caught my eye was Photo voltaic Buggy, an organization that has developed an electrical city mobility automobile that appears like an enclosed golf cart.

Picture Credit: Kirsten Korosec

And naturally, there have been the electrical plane and drones. On the startup entrance, Pivotal opened up on-line orders for its private electrical plane the Helix whereas autonomous on-demand drone corporations Zipline and Wing landed a large take care of Walmart. Hyundai’s superior air mobility unit Supernal revealed its production-intent electrical vertical takeoff and touchdown plane and Xpeng Aeroht, the subsidiary of Chinese language electrical automobile maker Xpeng Motors, confirmed off a brand new idea and introduced that deliveries for its Land Plane Provider would begin in late 2025.

With so many electrical automobiles, it won’t shock of us to study that EV charging corporations had been additionally there en masse. Outdoors of the better-known charging infrastructure corporations, we discovered startups centered on EV charging software program in addition to these exhibiting off novel approaches like WiTricity’s wi-fi charging tech.

Generative AI

Picture Credit: Volkswagen

Earlier than even stepping foot on the present ground, TechCrunch workers had been forecasting that AI would dominate CES 2024. We weren’t incorrect. AI was in every single place, together with in transportation from automobiles and e-bikes to scooters and electrical aviation.

There have been a great deal of corporations touting AI. Whereas there was actually loads of vaporware, many corporations demonstrated how software program is more and more incorporating AI to supply (hopefully) extra succesful merchandise, together with automobile sensors, voice assistants in automobiles and autonomous driving techniques.

There was additionally lot of chatter round generative AI, and extra particularly, ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot features through the use of by massive deep studying fashions which have been skilled on huge datasets. I checked out two ChatGPT demos: one with BMW and one other from a collaboration with software program firm Cerence and Volkswagen.

Volkswagen introduced plans to add an AI-powered chatbot into all Volkswagen fashions outfitted with its IDA voice assistant.

In the meantime, BMW and accomplice Amazon confirmed off a improvement mission that makes use of generative AI, powered by the Alexa LLM, to present the automaker’s voice assistant better functionality and ship info in a extra human, conversational method.

Hydrogen

Jaehoon Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Co., heart, and Chang Hwan Kim, senior vice chairman and head of battery improvement and hydrogen and gasoline cell improvement for Hyundai Motor Co at CES 2024. Picture credit: Getty pictures through Bloomberg

Hydrogen energy isn’t new, nonetheless, it’s taken a little bit of a backseat these days to extra conventional battery electrical automobiles.  Don’t inform anybody at CES 2024, although, as this 12 months’s present ground was plagued by automobiles of all sizes which can be hydrogen-powered.

Hyundai, which has a rising portfolio of battery-powered electrical automobiles, got here to CES to speak about hydrogen gasoline cells and its imaginative and prescient for the choice gasoline. Nikola lastly confirmed off considered one of its first U.S.-built hydrogen vehicles that it’s beginning to ship to prospects and Bosch, which already makes hydrogen gasoline cells (just like the one Nikola makes use of in its truck), introduced it should make an engine that may combust hydrogen. Truck maker PACCAR additionally confirmed off a hydrogen-powered truck.

We additionally bumped into different hydrogen-focused startups that had been strolling the halls to satisfy with media, potential traders and business of us. Croft Motors was one we got here throughout. The startup is creating “rugged” hydrogen-powered automobiles, beginning with a three-row, prototype SUV with an “anticipated 1,000 miles of driving vary.

In-cabin {hardware} meets software program

Harman reveals off its ReadyCare product at CES 2024. Picture credit score: Kirsten Korosec

Automakers, automotive suppliers and even some startups, confirmed off their respective imaginative and prescient for the within of the automobile. Sure, there have been loads of touchscreens, together with the favored curved design.

In-car tech stretched properly past that although into areas of security, well being assessments and leisure. Eye-tracking tech was in every single place. For example, Harman confirmed off its branded Prepared Care system, which may measure a driver’s eye exercise, cognitive load and important indicators to find out the extent of focus and a spotlight on the highway forward.

Numerous corporations additionally showcased how {hardware} akin to cameras and different sensors as soon as used for security are actually being leveraged for different extra comfort-focused companies. Bosch confirmed how eye-tracking tech could possibly be used throughout your drive to determine what factors of curiosity you’re , and the automobile may supply contextual info.

In the meantime, Mercedes introduced an entire bundle of options that when mixed creates a full expertise for the motive force and passengers, together with an upgraded voice assistant, in-car gaming, immersive audio and an app developed by will.i.am’s new firm Sound Drive that matches the throttle, brakes and steering to a type of clever multichannel mixer that influences songs enjoying within the automobile.

My takeaway: corporations perceive that drivers and passengers are a captured viewers, so to talk. And so they’re all engaged on methods to convey all of the tech we have now on our telephones and houses into the automobile.