CES

Byton autonomous EV to debut at CES

Its 'Shared Experience Display' takes center stage.

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More and more, we're seeing Silicon Valley startups and their ilk making forays into the automotive world, with a major focus on technology. Byton is one of those companies, launched last year in China, with an R&D facility in Santa Clara, California. Byton will debut its first autonomous, electric vehicle prototype — which it calls a "next generation smart device" — at the Consumer Electronics Show ( CES) in Las Vegas on January 7.

While Byton hasn't released photos of the whole vehicle, the company has offered a few glimpses, as well as an explanation of some of the car's core technologies. The visual highlight is the screen that spans the entire top of the dash. Byton calls it the "Shared Experience Display" allowing all the car's passengers to consume content together while the car handles the driving duties. It also features a gesture control system that allows any passenger to operate the shared display. There is also a screen mounted on the steering wheel. The Byton Life Cloud Platform allows users access to their own personal apps and data.

Taking a cue from Apple, Byton's vehicle uses facial recognition to unlock the car. It also features illuminated panels on the exterior that can switch between display modes depending on the situation.

Byton says it will build the car — which appears to be some sort of a crossover based on the silhouette on the Byton website — in Nanjing, China, starting in 2019. The car will come to the U.S. and Europe starting in 2020. Using the same platform, Byton also plans follow this vehicle up with a sedan and a multi-purpose vehicle (minivan).

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