COVID-19 has changed how we work, how we interact, and, increasingly, how we use our cars.
In a roundtable session at the virtual CES 2021 , panelists said the pandemic has changed commuting patterns and consumer preferences – and that those shifts are here to stay.
According to a study led by the Center for Automotive Research, a majority of workers are not planning on returning to the office.
"Only about 20% are saying that they’re going to go back to full-time," said Carla Bailo, President and CEO of the Ann Arbor, MI-based research organization. Bailo joined three other automotive-industry professionals in the online discussion on Tuesday.
In fact, some employees have been getting their jobs done from their driveway.
"Honestly, the car has become an office for some people just so they can get away from the noise of their house," said Bailo. "The sound is great, and you can connect from anywhere."
As COVID-19 has disrupted day-to-day life and sent many employees away from their usual workplaces, the vehicle, for many, has become a kind of protective cocoon – a high-tech one these days, often equipped with premium audio, fast connections, and sometimes up to a dozen display screens.
Today’s cars feature high-quality sound from a variety of audio vendors, like Bang & Olufsen, Bose, and Bowers & Wilkens. The Revel Ultima 3D system in the Lincoln Aviator has 28 speakers placed throughout the SUV.
"You’re enabling home theater and audio experiences that you really you can’t find even in your home now," said Andrew Poliak, CTO at Panasonic Automotive, in the virtual session.
The car has become a kind of preferred "second space," said Poliak – a location that has surpassed the traditional workplace in importance.
COVID-19 has led to a distrust and decline in public transportation and air travel among many consumers, making the car an important, protected kind of bubble.
"If you're in a car, that's a safe place," said Christiane Zorn, Senior Director of Product Marketing at AUDI AG.
And when the vehicle is your next-favorite place after your home, you want to know more about the features inside it.
In the past, consumers made sure to take a test-drive before making any buying decisions. Increasingly, new drivers are more concerned with connectivity and infotainment features than how the car actually moves.
"Our data shows that almost 25 percent of people aren’t even driving the car before they buy it," said Bailo, "but they do want to make sure it has Apple CarPlay and everything else they need to connect."
With the vehicle taking on a central, "second-place" role for consumers, the CES 2021 panelists emphasized an opportunity for manufacturers to provide a customized experience for specific drivers, to help customers make the car their own.
Through sophisticated software, OEMs can provide updates over the air (OTA), keeping the car equipped with the latest features, like preferred diagnostics and applications.
OEMs are able to add features post-sale, even seasonally. An over-the-air update, for example, could allow a buyer to purchase high-grade LED lighting effects for the dark winter, but not in the summer.
"You can buy a used a car, and you can still upgrade it, so no matter what the previous owner was ordering for it, you can still make it your car,” said Zorn.
As vehicles becomes more software-intensive, OEMs may be able to offer a kind of baseline suspension, for example, and then added levels of suspension tuning, chosen by the user and delivered via OTA. Similar updates could someday be made with engine power and transmission tuning.
Or think Tesla, which offers various levels of “Full Self Driving” from its automated-driving system. The extra capability is available via OTA.
Customization opportunities continue with the interface. Vehicles have to provide a variety of ways for drivers to engage with the car, from speech to touch.
Manufacturers must be able to adapt to how customer wants to use their vehicle, whether they're on the road or in their driveway.
"Not every customer wants to interact with a car in the same way," said Zorn. "This will be the big topic in the future, because it will make the car a more personal device."
Transcript
00:00:01 [Music] ces 2021 might be an all virtual show but that doesn't mean the tech is any less exciting this year from flying cars to transparent tvs here's the best stuff you need to know from the show [Music] now it wouldn't be ces without some wild concept gadgets including razer's
00:00:23 project brooklyn this looks like the gaming chair dreams are made of it has a transparent oled that wraps around to fully immerse you in the game it's got a leather seat of course with haptic feedback and there's rgb lights because well it's razer the other concept that took everyone by
00:00:42 surprise was the cadillac evtol air taxi from gm it's powered by batteries and supposedly travels up to 56 miles an hour but we don't have any more details yet on when it might become a reality or even what it would cost when it comes to show-stopping tvs there were a few that really caught our eye but leave it to lg display to show us
00:01:01 the wildest concepts for transparent oleds one version is designed for a smart bed so it's a 55-inch screen that rolls up from the foot of the bed another is a restaurant partition at a sushi bar so you can watch a video while you wait for your food there's even a subway train window to show you the weather
00:01:20 the news or maps while you take in the view of the outside world on the topic of outfit displays get ready for rollable phones lg showed us a quick sneak peek of its rollable concept and tcl also had its own rollable phone that goes from a 6.7 inch display to a 7.8 inch tablet
00:01:41 it's no surprise that pandemic tech is a big theme this year from razer's project hazel which is an n95 mask with audio processing pods to make sure your voice isn't muffled and a sterilizing case yupitek also showed us the adibot a robot designed to roll around workplaces or schools and disinfect them with uvc light
00:02:02 samsung also showed us a robot designed to give us a hand around the home it's a single arm robot with an articulating arm that can detect the object it's picking up and know how to handle it accordingly so if it's a wine glass for example it doesn't smash it it can even set the table or pack the dishwasher alright let's get
00:02:23 out of dreamland now and talk about the tech you can actually buy later this year samsung showed off a whole slew of qled tvs that promise a brighter picture and either 4k or 8k resolution on the high-end models called neoq led they're also optimized for next-gen consoles like the ps5 and xbox series x and there's even an
00:02:44 option to attach a camera and do a workout in your living room but here's the catch the fitness coach will actually judge your form on the laptop side there's always a lot to see at ces but the most innovative has to be the asus zenbook duo it's got dual screens is smaller and lighter than the previous generation and
00:03:04 that second screen is pretty versatile you can scrub along footage in video editing software like premiere or control parts of your image in photoshop if it's time to renovate the bathroom well i have the tub for you it's called the stillness bath from kohler and it uses light fog and aromatherapy to bring the spa experience to you it's
00:03:26 not cheap ranging in price from 6 000 to 16 000 but hey a girl can dream and one of the other surprises is actually lipstick the rouge soul major from ysl is a gadget that makes whatever lipstick shade you want the app lets you play with shades to find your perfect color and it's not
00:03:44 exactly cheap at 300 but unlike a lot of out there concepts from ces this one's actually a real product and you can pre-order it now that's a wrap on ces 2021 and for more cool tech and our top picks from the show make sure to stay tuned to cnet
