Ford and Intel make major announcements at 2015 CES

The show opened with an address titled ‘State of the Consumer Electronics’, which was delivered by President and CEO of CEA, Gary Shapiro. Shapiro announced that revenues for the consumer electronics industry are expected to increase by 3% in 2015, reaching $223.2bn. These figures were released in the 'U.S. Consumer Electronics Sales and Forecasts', CEA’s semi-annual industry report. 

Mark Fields, President and CEO, Ford Motor, followed Shapiro with his opening keynote address in which he announced Ford’s new Smart Mobility plan, which promises to solve today’s global transportation challenges. Leveraging today’s connectivity, mobility and big data, the plan will operate 25 experiments around the world. Using OpenXC, the company’s open source hardware and software, developers will be able to help Ford create solutions that provide a better customer experience, more flexible user-ship models and social collaboration. “Even as we showcase connected cars and share our plans for autonomous vehicles, we are here at CES with a higher purpose,” said Fields. “We are driving innovation in every part of our business to be both a product and mobility company and, ultimately, to change the way the world moves just as our founder Henry Ford did 111 years ago.”

Fields also announced the company’s future plans to develop next-gen fully autonomous cars. Ford is currently testing Fusion Hybrid, a fully autonomous car that uses existing technology from Ford’s semi-autonomous cars and includes LiDAR sensors to sense objects and advanced algorithms to help predict vehicle and pedestrian traffic. “Our priority is not in making marketing claims or being in a race for the first autonomous car on the road,” said Fields. “Our priority is in making the first Ford autonomous vehicle accessible to the masses and truly enhancing customers’ lives."

Intel’s keynote address was delivered by the company’s CEO, Brian Krzanich, who announced that 2015 will mark the next technology consumer wave. “We’re moving from a 2D world to a 3D world,” said Krzanich. “This additional dimension will change how we experience computing.” According to Krzanich, Computing Unleashed, Intelligence Everywhere and The Wearable Evolution will enable this wave. Krzanich discussed Intel innovations such as Real Sense, which can interpret depth, True Key, with recognition capability that eliminates need for passwords, and the Curie wearable, which can identify different sporting activities. On-stage guests included HP’s Dion Weisler, Executive Vice President of Printing & Personal Systems, who announced HP’s multi-jet fusion 3D printing will be powered by Intel’s processing; and Oakley CEO Colin Baden.

In a keynote titled ‘How Mobile Is Fundamentally Changing our World’, tech leaders from across the industry discussed how mobile connectivity is transforming the industry and our lives. The panel discussion was hosted by John Ford of CNBC, and featured Jan Brockmann, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Electrolux; Phil Abram, Chief Infotainment Officer of General Motors; Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm; and Jeroen Tas, CEO HISS of Philips. A number of issues surrounding mobile connectivity were discussed during the keynote, including privacy and data collection. Industries that are being transformed by ubiquitous internet access, such home appliance, automotive and health care, were also considered.

Engadget presented the ‘Future of Robotics’ SuperSession, which was moderated by Michael Gorman, Editor and Chief of Engadget. Panelists included Chris Anderson, CEO, 3D Robotics; Nate Harding, CEO and Co-Founder, Ekso Bionics; Dr. Werner Huber, Head of Driver Assistance and Perception, BMW Group Research and Technology; and Paolo Pirjanian, Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, iRobot. Panelists agreed robotics not only have the opportunity to touch people’s lives, but the potential to be life-changing, as demonstrated in the session by an individual with complete paraplegia who was able to stand and walk while wearing an exosuit from Ekso Bionics.

Key topics, including augmented and virtual reality, were discussed at CNET’s ‘Next Big Thing’ SuperSession. The session, which was moderated by CNET’s Brian Cooley and Tim Stevens, featured panelists Jens Christensen, CEO, Jaunt; Jeri Ellsworth, Co-Founder and Chief Hardware Engineer, Technical Illusions; Palmer Luckey, Founder and CEO, Oculus VR; and Ray Velez, Global Chief Technology Officer, Razorfish. The group noted that while gaming is currently the main vehicle bringing virtual reality to the market, it is not the end of virtual reality and the dynamic will shift as more content becomes available pushing the technology toward telepresence and video. When asked how augmented and virtual reality can both grow in the marketplace, the panelists agreed that the technology is already in place, but more content is needed. Luckey commented: “The first step is making a device that can make you believe you’re in a different place.”

Ericsson presented the ‘Welcome to the Era of Personal Entertainment’ SuperSession. This addressed the fact that the linear episodic viewing experience is not enough anymore, with viewers moving to short-form, personalised, easily-shared and original content. Executives from AT&T, Indy Car, Fullscreen, Ericsson Group and Verizon said today’s viewers are on the move and on multiple screens.

New opportunities for game developers were discussed at the ‘Emerging Trends in Gaming’ SuperSession. While the competition is high for developers, the panelists agreed that it is an exciting time for the gaming market, with technologies such as virtual reality emerging.