New stuff at CES show

A raft of new automotive and mobility tech features at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas from January 8-11.

One new gadget is Chinese electric car maker Byton’s steering wheel touchscreen.

The screen will stay still even while the steering wheel is rotated, Byton chief executive officer Carsten Breitfeld says.

It will be on Byton’s first model the ‘M-Byte’ and the SUV will also have a digital screen running across its dashboard.

Byton aims to have its first EVs for sale in China in 2019 and to enter the US in 2020.

The new steering wheel entertainment and control screen is in the driver’s field of vision so is safer than dashboard touchscreens, according to Byton representatives who say they’ve ensured it meets safety standards in various countries.

Nissan has announced ‘Invisible-to-Visible’ at the show, a revolutionary technology that helps drivers “See the Invisible” by merging the real and virtual worlds (metaverse) to create the ultimate connected-car technology.

Tetsuro Ueda, a technology expert at the Nissan Research Centre, says ‘Invisible-to-Visible’ (12V) increases awareness and enhances the driving experience using 3D imagery, providing a new approach in presenting data or avatars as mixed reality.

Nissan is also presenting its new twin electric motor, all-wheel drive Nissan Leaf Nismo RC racing machine and has a display of the IMx Kuro concept crossover electric vehicle, along with an EV café.

Toyota has revealed its new automated driving test vehicle, the Tri-P4, to help with its full autonomy “chauffer” driving technology.

Concept cars from automakers feature at the show too, including a “Vision Urbanetic” from Mercedes-Benz, a Hyundai all-terrain vehicle, and self-driving cars from Russia’s Yandex.

Meanwhile, the Toyota Mobility Foundation has announced five finalists in its US$4 million global Mobility Unlimited Challenge at CES to improve mobility for people with lower-limb paralysis.

Finalists include teams from United States, Japan, Italy and United Kingdom, with devices ranging from a hybrid exoskeleton on wheels to a powered wheelchair share scheme.