CES Roundup: Ford, Toyota, Internet of Things

The 2015 International CES wrapped up on Friday, with Ford, Toyota and other companies making major announcements about how technology innovation will advance efficiency and sustainability.

Mark Fields, Ford president and CEO, announced Ford’s new Smart Mobility plan in his keynote, which he says will solve today’s global transportation challenges. The plan will use connectivity, mobility and big data to operate 25 experiments around the world.

Fields also unveiled Ford’s future plans to develop the next-generation of fully autonomous cars. The company is currently testing Fusion Hybrid, a fully autonomous car that uses existing technology from Ford’s semi-autonomous cars and includes LiDAR sensors to sense objects and advanced algorithms to help predict vehicle and pedestrian traffic.

Also at CES, Toyota announced it is making available thousands of hydrogen fuel cell patents royalty free (pictured).

The event saw the largest-ever showcase of products, services and technologies that make up the internet of things, with more than 900 exhibitors sharing innovations that harness the power of the network to connect everyday devices, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. Some of the CES exhibitors showcasing IoT technologies include Bosch, Lowe’s, Konnect Labs, iDevices, Muzzley and Blinksight.