CES 2016: Bosch is turning connected cars into personal assistants

• Bosch haptic touchscreen wins CES 2016 Innovation Award
• Bosch to showcase new solutions for automated driving and parking
• Connected cars innovations on display in the North Hall of the exhibition

At CES 2016 (6-9 January) Bosch will be offering a glimpse into the car of the future, showing its latest connected car assistance systems.

Bosch will premier its new haptic touchscreen, which has already been awarded a CES 2016 Innovation Award. The screen uses feedback to generate the sensation of real buttons by way of haptic feedback.

The Bosch booth in Las Vegas will also be offering a live, hands-on preview of automated driving and smart vehicle connectivity.

A touchscreen that feels like it has real buttons

Bosch has received a CES 2016 Innovation Award in the In-Vehicle Audio/Video category for its new haptic touchscreen. The screen can generate different surface textures, allowing elements to be felt on the display. This haptic feedback makes it easier to operate infotainment applications such as navigation, radio, and smartphone functions. Often drivers will not even need to look at the information on the screen to control it – instead, they can keep their eyes on the road.

The screen generates the feel of rough, smooth, and patterned surfaces to indicate different buttons and functions. The touchscreen looks no different from an ordinary display – and yet it gives users the impression that they are pressing real buttons.  

The car: the driver’s truly personal assistant  

Bosch will be showing a car, which features a dashboard and central console that have been transformed into an electronic display. The information shown on the giant display changes depending on the vehicle’s surroundings. If a pedestrian approaches from the right, a lighting sequence is triggered to alert the driver. Drivers’ preferences as well as appointments in their diary are also taken into account. Drivers will be able to activate the autopilot to free up even more time and make their journey more relaxed.

With a connection to the smart home, the car will enable household functions such as heating or security systems to be operated at any time. The driver will be able to use it to access online services and smartphone apps, and control it using gestures and speech, just as if they were talking with a passenger. This will turn the car into the driver’s truly personal assistant.

No need to fear wrong-way drivers: a guardian angel in the cloud

Connectivity makes driver information more up to date than ever before. This is particularly important when it comes to drivers travelling the wrong-way. In general, it takes several minutes for radio stations to issue warnings over the airwaves, but a third of wrong-way driving incidents finish after just 500 metres. Bosch is currently developing a new cloud-based wrong-way driver alert that will let drivers know of any danger just ten seconds after it arises.

As a pure software module, it can be integrated at low cost into smartphone apps such as Bosch’s myDriveAssist or existing infotainment systems. In order to detect wrong-way driving, the cloud-based function compares actual, anonymised vehicle movement on freeways with the permitted direction of travel. If there is a discrepancy, wrong-way drivers are warned of their error in a matter of seconds. At the same time, nearby cars traveling in the opposite direction are alerted to the danger. Starting in 2016, the new function will be available as a cloud service.

The highway pilot will increase road safety from 2020

Highly automated driving will further increase the safety of road traffic. This development will come to freeways in 2020. According to forecasts made by Bosch accident researchers, increasing automation can significantly reduce accident numbers – by up to a third in Germany alone.

At CES 2016, Bosch will be showcasing the systems and sensors necessary for automated journeys in another demo vehicle at the Sands Expo. Visitors will also learn how the highway pilot works, a highly automated system that assumes all the driver’s tasks and responsibilities on freeways. This technology is already being tested on public roads. Bosch is testing automated driving on motorways not only in Germany and the United States but now also in Japan.

In the future, cars will also be able to see around bends and be aware of possible danger spots, thanks to a stream of real-time information from the internet on the location of traffic jams, construction sites, and accidents. This data will serve as an electronic “connected horizon” and give cars an even better picture of what lies ahead – further increasing safety and efficiency.

It’s up to cars, not drivers, to find a parking space

Bosch is showing a new function called automated valet parking. This solution does more than relieve drivers of the task of finding a vacant space in a parking garage: it enables cars to park themselves. Drivers can simply leave the car at the entrance to the parking garage. Using a smartphone app, they then instruct their car to find a space for itself. When ready to leave, they call the car back to the drop-off point in the same way.

Fully automated parking relies on smart infrastructure in parking garages plus the vehicle’s on-board sensor systems – and connectivity for both. Sensors in the pavement provide up-to-date information on where free parking spaces are located, so cars know where to go. Bosch is developing not only the fully automated parking function but also all the necessary components in-house.

Further information:

Press release on the CES 2016 Innovation Award

Press photos: 1-BBM-21856, 1-BBM-21857, 1-BBM-21858, 1-BBM-21371

Simply.Connected.
Visit Bosch at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA: 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016 (all times local)

• 8:00 to 8:45 a.m.
  Press conference with Dr. Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, at Mandalay Bay Hotel, South Convention Center, Level 3, Banyan Rooms A-D.

Friday, January 8, 2016

• 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
  Conference track: Exploring Tomorrow's Automotive Mobility Ecosystem
  Panel: “Implications for Players in Tomorrow's Mobility Ecosystem”
  Dr. Rolf Nicodemus, project vice president, Connected Parking,
  Robert Bosch GmbH, Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, Room N261

Wednesday, January 6 through Saturday, January 9, 2016 – Bosch booths

• Focus on smart homes, smart cities, and Industry 4.0 in the Smart Home Marketplace, Sands Expo Center, booth #71517
• Focus on connected mobility in the North Hall, booth #2302

Follow the Bosch CES 2016 highlights on Twitter: #BoschCES

Contact person for press inquiries:
Rianne Ojeh, 01895 838 822
Email: Rianne.Ojeh@uk.bosch.com

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 360,000 associates worldwide (as per April 1, 2015). The company generated sales of 49 billion euros in 2014.* Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiary and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including its sales and service partners, Bosch is represented in roughly 150 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. In 2014, Bosch applied for some 4,600 patents worldwide. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to create solutions for a connected life. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.”

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com, http://twitter.com/BoschPresse.

*The sales figure disclosed for 2014 does not include the former joint ventures BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH (now BSH Hausgeräte GmbH) and ZF Lenksysteme GmbH (now Robert Bosch Automotive Steering GmbH), which have since been taken over completely.