What happened at CES in the field of sensor-fusion?

Wow! So many impressions and great meetings during CES last week. It took almost a week to let everything sink in. It is clear that the market is moving in our direction.

In the automotive industry, software has of course been in focus for the last few years, building better services in all kinds of areas, anything from safety applications, ADAS, EV improvements, navigation applications, vehicle control, and so many other things.

But now, it is clear, that even more of the automotive players, are putting more and more focus on sensor fusion, as it is a very powerful way of getting more functionality from already existing sensors. We believe that it is great that more companies are moving into this field, to make the market understand the possibilities with sensor-fusion software.

So many aspects of developing a vehicle is affected by sensor-fusion software.

• The cost is lowered - the possibility to remove sensors and add smarter software instead has been the core of what we have done for many years, adding indirect TPMS in cars since 2006.
• Sustainability is enhanced – by minimizing the use of raw materials and waste, we contribute to a greener automotive industry. No need for batteries also means that the lifetime of a service is prolonged.
• User experience and functionality can be improved. Sure, it is possible to create a lot of new cool, useful, safety- or performance-enhancing solutions, using hardware, but why add an extra sensor when a lot of things can be done just as good, or even better, just using software.

CES 2024 was a testament to the accelerating evolution of the automotive industry, with an array of future-focused innovations unveiled. Advancements in autonomous driving, electric vehicles, and in-vehicle technology were prominent, showcasing a future where connectivity and smart mobility redefine our travel experiences. The AI services in the vehicle experience are accelerating, and the quality will improve. To be honest, many of them are not yet on the level we are hoping for.

But if we are talking about sensor fusion, what could we see on CES? Tire pressure monitoring solutions, using either hardware in tires or software. Loose wheel detection, using either sensors or software. Road surface condition monitoring, using hardware or software.

What these solutions have in common is that they are combining data from sensors located in or around the tire, with other sensor data, that could be taken from other ECUs. The maturity of these services vary, so we are happy that we have been doing it for many years with solutions that are in series production since 2006 for Tire Pressure Indicator, 2017 for Loose Wheel Indicator and 2019 for Road Surface Alerts.

So more companies are moving into the space where we have been around for many years. So already today, drivers globally are taking advantage of software solutions to improve their driver experience, both in the vehicle through embedded systems, and through connected services based on live data from multiple connected vehicles.

We are welcoming it, we think it will push ourselves, and the industry, to create even better solutions. Solutions that are safer and more sustainable, solutions that will increase the performance of future vehicles. The best thing, as the spotlight increases on sensor-fusion, the spotlight will increase on the applications that are in need of these services. So now, we are hoping that ADAS, AV and EV suppliers and manufacturers start to follow the trend and use even more advanced virtual sensors as input to improve their products.