Driverless cars command the spotlight of this year's CES as the race to rid the world of human drivers and crashes is gaining momentum.
To many, the future of transportation starts with connectivity between cars and things related.
The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 opened Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, with about 222,967 square meters in the exhibition area and more than 3,600 exhibitors in attendance, including a record 500 startups.
"More than 115 automotive companies are featured on the CES show floor this year, an increase of 25 percent over 2015," said Gary Shapiro, the president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the host of CES.
According to him, nine out of the world's top 10 automakers were exhibiting their products at more than 18,500 square meters of the CES 2016.
Automotive tech companies show visitors trends with electric vehicles, collision avoidance, parking assistance and other car safety tech.
Dozens of companies show their own car safety technology at this year's CES. The sensors build in the car, for instance, will warm drivers if a vehicle ahead is stopped or traveling slower, giving them time to slow down safely and avoid an accident. Or some app would help transit passengers stay on their schedule when connecting to two or more buses or trains.
A research done by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) found that the technology could reduce unimpaired vehicle crashes by 80 percent. Due to the development of wireless communication in cars, it's possible to see near-zero crashes in the near future.
"Autonomous driving will surely play the biggest role. Not only will it make traffic run more smoothly and efficiently, it will first and foremost also be safer. I expect to see a successive reduction in the number of accidents through the use of ever better and more intelligent driver assistance systems," said Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess.
Ford CEO Mark Fields said during his keynote address delivered at the CES 2016 that Ford will triple its self-driving vehicle testing fleet to 30 vehicle models testing in the U.S.
General Motors' CEO Mary Barra unveiled the company's development blueprint, saying her company's goal is to have 12 million connected vehicles on the road this year.
"I have no doubt that the auto industry will change more in the next five to 10 years that it has in the past 50," said Barra. "The convergence of connectivity, vehicle electrification and evolving customer needs demand new solutions."
She failed to disclose her company's plan toward driverless cars in the blueprint.
Kenneth Leonard, director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office of USDOT, said that connected cars, self-driving or automated vehicles, are the foundation for the next major innovation in transportation.
"Connectivity will help realize the full potential of automation. Cars that drive themselves will be able to communicate with other cars, traffic signals, and pedestrian cellphones to function safely," he noted.
The fully autonomous vehicles will come out by 2020, predicted Shawn DuBravac, chief economist with the Consumer Technology Association. He said 1 million units are expected to be sold by 2030, adding that by 2045, half of all cars sold may be fully autonomous.
