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Top 5 CES 2015 Technologies That Our Cars Need

A top-level company official with Cadillac recently stated they're not hiring car people any more. Instead, the company is focusing on getting top experts from other fields. That sounds crazy, but it seems to be the general direction where the industry is headed. People are nowadays less concerned with what's under the bonnet and more concerned with the geeky stuff inside the cabin. Cars are nowadays measured in megapixels or processor speed, not just horsepower.
CES 1 photo
Photo: CES
And for all the geeks around the word, the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas is like two Christmases bundled together and given to you a week after New Year's. Among the typical miles and miles of gadgets, 2015 seems to have featured more car tech than ever before. It's a small taste of tech poised to arrive on your driveway in a few year. But what's actually good and what's just static noise? We took a look at everything on show and picked the 5 things we think all future cars should have.

5. Laser headlights… Star Wars

4K televisions were abundant at CES 2015. This new resolution is being feverishly targeted by everybody from Samsung to LG. Apparently, these new TV screens have about 8 million pixels in the same space where an HD unit has 2 million. Impressive? No, television is downright boring. If you want to be impressed, check out the laser headlights that both BMW and Audi are showcasing.

Laser headlights sound like the stuff of science fiction, like something you need a lab coat and 10 doctorates to operate. But German automakers will have them on most upper-premium models in a few years. The i8 hybrid sportscar already has them and they will also be available on the new 7 Series starting… very soon.

How do the headlights work? We'll save you the 500 level science class and instead just say that laser headlights project to very long distances, probably more than you can actually see at night. They also use less energy than LEDs.

"What the heck did I just watch?" That was the BMW M4 Iconic Lights Concept. It features high beams that shoot out to 600 meters and come with High-Beam Assistant, an anti-dazzle system that works in a similar way to adaptive LEDs. The German company also developed the Dynamic Light Spot system, which shoots shorts beams of light at people and animals from 100 meters away to warn you of potential hazards.

Laser headlights are actually our favorite bit of new tech. The only reason why it's at number 5 is that you can already order it, so the futuristic edge has been dulled.

4. Gesture Controls

Volkswagen is not a big player in America and their previous models have been sort of embarrassing from the tech side of things, often sporting low-res displays and no standard USB connectivity. At CES 2015, they showed all that could change with a concept car called the Golf R Tough. We liked it for one reason: gesture controls!

For years, smartphones have been ahead of car infotainmeny systems by offering controls that require only swiping movements of the hand, not toughing a specific button on the screen. In the future, you could change the radio station or turn down the climate control by waving your hand in the air.

Another thing we liked is that windows in the main screen could be arranged in a specific order, a bit like the widgets of a Windows system. There were a few areas where the company got carried away, for example by using three displays or getting rid of virtually every button. That works for a tablet because you're actually looking at it, but it might not be such a good idea when driving is added to the mix.

If you have kids and they love consoles, you're probably aware of how fun gesture controls can be, so Vdub is on the right track. But us adults like a few buttons here and there, so don't turn the starter button into a display just yet.

3. Wireless charging – don't plug me in!

Just like smartphones didn't make sense until wi-fi became common, I think electric car's won't be fully accepted until wireless charging. It doesn't have to be as efficient as doing it with a cord, but we need it to happen. Can you imagine a world filled with EVs that need a socket all the time? That would be chaos.

Charing is a big problem, firstly because it can take half a day on some models and secondly because there's nowhere to plug the damn things. Most advanced countries in the world have thousands of public points, but if there were millions, we wouldn't have space for them all. But what if they could be under the road?

BMW showed an industrial wireless system at CES 2015. Their system is comprised of a primary and a secondary coil that work together. The primary coil is fitted in a base pad underneath the vehicle while the secondary coil is integrated in the underside of the car. When it's in place, right above the base pad, the charging process begins.

The company says that the high-voltage battery of the BMW i8 can be fully recharged in less than two hours using this system, which is approximately the same amount of time required with a plug.

2. The car watch: Come over here!

2014 was probably the year of the wearable device. With every major electronics company running out of new customers to target with its expensive smartphone, many decided to launch smart watches instead. Small processors are cheaper than ever, but the usability and appeal of these devices is quite limited.

Why would you ever need a watch to check missed calls if the phone is right there, in your pocket? The smart watch could prove far more interesting if it were to be combined with the automobile.

That useless Samsung Gear you spent money one could suddenly find new use as a car key you don't actually need to keep in your pocket. Things like cooling the interior before you arrive on a hot summer day or finding a lost sedan in a multi-story car park are all great ideas.

That interesting piece of sterling with a touchscreen was the new LG smart watch, revealed at CES 2015 and kitted out with a WebOS operating system. During a Las Vegas presentation, the device was seen around the wrist of Audi's board member for technical development, Ulrich Hackenberg, who used it to summon a self-driving car to the stage. Nifty!

1. Electric crossovers

Tesla's Model X is pretty much a thing, as the silicon carmaker has even given us a launch schedule. However, that doesn't mean it's an insignificant thing, far from it in fact.

You see, I bet that like me, many people think electric cars are fragile little things that would shatter to pieces of they hit a curb or a rock. They have this sort of futuristic… Japanese comicbook… low profile tires sort of vibe that needs to be shaken off and Tesla is the perfect company to do it.

Besides the millions of monster truck electric toys that are out there, there are a few companies that are launching semi-electric crossovers and SUVs besides Tesla. There's Porsche and its Cayenne S E-Hybrid, the new Audi Q7 and soon a couple of contenders from BMW and Mercedes. But none of these cars have anywhere near 100 miles of electric-only range.

Come on Tesla, make the Model X already. Because we bet it will be an even bigger hit than the sedan.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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