Valeo Panovision

Beyond the software-defined vehicle, the most significant automotive trend to be seen at CES2025 was the digital cockpit.

Source: Valeo

Beyond the software-defined vehicle (SDV) the most significant automotive trend to be seen at CES2025 was the digital cockpit. This is where major innovation is set to happen, encompassing all things generative AI, whopping-TOPS SoCs, and screens, screens, and more screens. We will see as many design ideas for the digital cockpit as there are OEMs, and a significant method to create brand loyalty will come from the so-called "cockpit of the future." Tier-1 suppliers can add value to the digital cockpit by developing innovative technologies which meld augmented reality head-up displays (ARHUD) with pillar-to-pillar screens, which enable information (and alerts) to be projected directly into the driver's eyeline without them having to take their eyes off the road. Perhaps the biggest drawback of placing driver alerts on the instrument cluster is that the driver looks away from the road, potentially at the most dangerous moment, to find out what the alert is.

Shown here is Valeo Panovision, which was on display at CES2025. Valeo is an often overlooked tech supplier, but if you listen to eps. #325 of The Autonocast, Panovision is called out as the "product of CES," and rightly so. The disastrous trend to remove all physical switches, buttons and controls, and replace with touchscreen UI, looks set to reverse - at least in Europe - with Euro NCAP set to penalize unsafe UI design in the NCAP26 scoring. Panovision gives one view of the future.

At CES, Valeo also revealed it is working on a single optical path sensor for integration within the rear-view mirror housing, to monitor the driver and all occupants. This might be

seen as a first indication of a partnership between Valeo and Gentex Corporation, but definitely underscores the importance of the mirror location for whole cabin monitoring.

Tier-1 suppliers will need to consider carefully the technology and innovation roadmap of their DMS and OMS partners, with particular attention paid to advanced distraction algorithms and human factors expertise. OEMs are moving from viewing driver monitoring as a "tick-the-box" exercise towards understanding driver state and how to harness that information to make driving safer (meld with safety systems) and to enhance the cockpit experience. Valeo is partnered with Seeing Machines. Other cockpit tier-1s will choose their path.

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