Audi, BMW, VW and Mercedes-Benz all announced a number of connected, driverless, futuristic concept cars at the 2015 CES. CBR brings you the key announcements from the biggest automotive manufacturers.

Audi

At CES 2015, Audi was the first automotive company to release an own brand, in-car tablet – the ‘Audi Tablet’. The device will have a 10.1 inch display and run Google’s Android system. The company have also teamed with LG to create a smart watch which runs on WebOS that you can use to lock/unlock your car.

The Audi Q7 concept car was also on show, the same car which performed the world’s longest hands-off-drive at 560 miles. However, the autonomous driving feature only works on "developed highways" at speeds under 65kph.

The company also thinks it has found a solution to one of the worst parts of driving: finding a place to park. Its new Parking Spotter technology uses existing sensors on the car to find empty car spots and uploads that data to the cloud. That data is then shared with other drivers to help people avoid searching aimlessly for car spots.

Ford

The automotive company announced that they are planning to use more data in order to produce a ‘Smart Mobility plan’, according to Ford CEO, Mark Fields. The plan is to use some of the 25GB of data an hour that cars collect so that Ford can develop smarter cars, smarter roads and smarter cities in the future.

Ford has also opened its doors to open source developers, as Fields revealed that Ford are having the developers work on its software platforms in order to create technology and apps for future Ford cars.

BMW

BMW presented a number of innovations which included the electric BMW i3 with laser-guided self-parking system. The parking system uses four sensors to scan the area around the car, building a virtual environment in which to aid in parking.

The iConnected Mobility system allows drivers to continue receiving navigation guidance via a Smart Watch or Smart Phone after you have parked.

Continental

Partnered with IBM and Cloud location company HERE, Continental showcased how automotive electronics benefit from connecting to the Cloud.

The dynamic eHorizon software is designed to turn in-vehicle navigation maps into a constantly up-to-date high-precision sensor. Topographical information allows eHorizon to recognise that there is an incline just around a curve. Being alerted to such events helps the drivers proactively prepare for them.

Along with other car manufacturers, Continental has also developed a Smart Watch with an Intelligent Key so that the driver can control some integral functions of the vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz

A fully autonomous, hydrogen powered concept car, the FO15 Luxury in Motion, caused a big stir when revealed. The passengers will enter through rear-hinged doors and sit in four swivel chairs that face each other. Due to a floating control panel, any passenger will be able to manually take control and drive the car.

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Golf R Touch concept vehicle was on display for the first time, boasting an infotainment system that incorporates gesture control as the next step in the area of intuitive control. All it takes is a hand movement in the space in front of the Golf’s infotainment display to make human and machine interact as one.

The company also debuted a new inductive charging technology for the e-Golf. The car now only needs to drive over a charging pad, with the pad rising to the bottom of the car, to charge its batteries without the driver doing anything.

Hyundai

Typically busy at CES, Hyundai has been developing remote parking, vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

The company showcased the all-new Display Audio System, which has been optimised specifically for enhanced smartphone integrations and the latest generation Blue Link system. The Display Audio system brings the newest smartphone integrations into Hyundai vehicles using an easy-to-access USB port. Once the connection is made, users can access their smartphone for phone calls and contacts, music, navigation, messaging, and optimised third-party apps.

Hyundai also debuted a wearable band that, when linked to the HUD, can vibrate to indicate an impending collision or lane-departure. The wearable can also monitor the driver’s heart rate and dial emergency services if a dangerous shift in the driver’s heart rate is detected.