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Honda isn't just displaying a concept autonomous car at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Well, it is - the NeuV (New urban electric Vehicle) is indeed just such a concept - but also a whole eco-system of complimentary apps and other vehicles to help make journeys seamless and safe.
The NeuV is a compact Smart-style two seat electric autonomous car with an interior dominated by a huge touch screen. As is oddly common at the CES this year, the NeuV can sense your mood and can figure out why and how you reach your driving decisions (yet more vehicular artificial intelligence) and can then step in with assistance and suggestions when necessary.
Almost more important than the car itself is the 'eco-system' of devices and software surrounding it, designed to smooth out journeys. The NeuV is equipped for full x-to-car and car-to-x communication, meaning it can talk to other cars and vehicles around it, as well as infrastructure and buildings, allowing it to discern traffic flows and warn of any hazards ahead. It's also accompanied by an electric skateboard to allow, presumably funky, drivers to complete that so-called 'final mile' in suitably eco-friendly style.
But the NeuV has also been designed to be of value to you when you're not using it. Recognising that most cars are parked up 96 per cent of the time, the NeuV can autonomously wander off and be a self-driving taxi for the afternoon, or can connect to a charging station and sell some of its excess battery charge to the national grid. Honda has worked with Visa to provide a simple in-car payment system for that and for other things such as on-street parking. The Japanese car maker has also linked up with Dreamworks Animation (makers of, amongst others, Kung Fu Panda) to provide in-car entertainment services and Vocal Zoom and LEIA which provide, respectively, better voice control systems and 3D displays.
Honda also showed off a new motorbike stabilisation system which uses technology developed for the mono-cycle Uni-Cub concept to help keep a bike upright without needing heavy gyroscopes.
"The autonomous age has dawned, and Honda, like all automakers, is working to refine and advance this technology to achieve our goal for a collision-free society in the 2040 timeframe," said Frank Paluch, President, Honda R&D Americas. "Using vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and drawing upon big data and artificial intelligence, Honda will work with others to create an environment in which road conditions are predicted and managed, and collisions are avoided."