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Tech prowess key to surviving completion
The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) 2021, the world's largest annual gadget show, is drawing a global attention after it kicked off for a four-day run Monday. It is underway online for the first time in its 55-year history amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic. Highlighted at the event are state-of-the-art technologies ― artificial intelligence (AI), 5G communications, digital health and mobility.
The annual CES has been a global gala in the IT sector with companies desperate to lead the market by showing off their most up-to-date technologies alongside their strategies to cope with rapidly changing consumer trends. The ongoing session is also focusing on changes in daily lives caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic including social distancing and quarantine measures.
Of particular note is the growing importance of mobility, which has emerged as a key area of future business and human life. Major global carmakers and IT companies are showcasing their ultramodern technologies for smart cars including autonomous electric vehicles.
For instance, Mercedes Benz unveiled its next-generation "hyperscreen" as a possible alternative to the current dashboard with extended width and wider range of view. With the AI-infused technology, drivers and passengers can enjoy diverse leisure activities such as listening to music and browsing tour information, for instance, by simply touching the screen.
Intel's affiliate Mobileye unveiled an ambitious plan to test operate autonomous vehicles with a high degree of safety in five cities around the globe ― Detroit, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and Paris ― during the first quarter. Germany's mobility startup Sono Motors came with a solar energy electric car "Sion" which runs on 248 solar batteries.
Japan's home appliances maker Panasonic said the automobile has virtually become a "second house" especially during the pandemic. It unveiled a plan to adopt camera and augmented-reality (AR) technologies to help produce safe vehicles that are convenient to use. All these and others show more and more global firms are engaged in a harsh competition to develop innovative future cars.
Ahead of the looming change in the global market, companies have begun to realign themselves. Hyundai Motor, the nation's No. 1 carmaker, is allegedly seeking to join hands with Apple in the production of an electric car. Hyundai released a statement Jan. 8 that it has been receiving numerous calls from global companies for collaboration for the production of self-driving cars. Later, it said these business talks were in their initial stages and nothing was fixed yet. Gigantic IT firms such as Google and Amazon are also throwing their hats into the ring.
GM has already announced a plan to invest $27 billion by 2025 for the development of smarter vehicles. In a nutshell, Korean companies are facing grave challenges and need to sharpen their technological edge. Toward that end, they should make bold investments to be equipped with unrivalled technology prowess. The government, for its part, needs to lay the legal and institutional foundation and infrastructure for the production of smarter cars.
