Technology takes center stage at the Munich Motor Show: how cars become intelligent

MONACO – The Automobile Sapiens, a distinct and subsequent evolutionary step compared to current automobiles, is no academic invention. The intelligent car, an active protagonist in its user's daily life and no longer a simple mobility tool, takes center stage at the most important automotive event in Europe.

The show, marking the return of major traditional automotive brands seeking public engagement and engagement with global experts and media, showcases a car already profoundly different from that of the last major shows prior to the Covid tsunami. Yet, the real revolution is yet to come. And it is in this race to the future that the most delicate game for the auto industry is being played out, torn between alliances and rivalries with the Big Tech giants, present at the IAA Mobility in Munich with hardware and software solutions that clearly demonstrate their desire to expand into the mobility and four-wheeled sectors.

AWS, Amazon's digital technology company , is present with an extremely public-facing exhibition space. Cloud solutions for data storage and processing, technologies for rapidly processing the immense amounts of information (simply called Big Data) , and artificial intelligence software for vehicles and the overall mobility system are the focus of the stand. But Amazon is well aware that these are areas of obscure content for the general public. This is why experts and partner companies continuously meet with visitors and offer direct experiences. When you experience the results firsthand, terms like cloud , big data , and AI lose their cryptic quality and become results, and therefore products.

The same strategy is also being implemented in Google 's large exhibition space, where Android Automotive, Google Maps, Google Ads, and Google Cloud are all deployed in real-world experiences offered to the public. This journey leads to Google AI, where you can interact with the next-generation Gemini generative artificial intelligence, ready to enter our cars. From voice interaction, which involves querying the system for a response, we move on to integrating AI with vehicle image acquisition technologies.

The car, in this way, continuously processes the images from the cameras, just as our mind does with our eyes, and interacts with those on board based on what it "sees." A road sign that escapes the driver's attention thus prompts an immediate alert from the system, just as a passenger does if they realize the driver has made a mistake. In short, the car becomes the protagonist and no longer a passive instrument of the journey.

In the evolving automotive world, on-board screens are set to play an increasingly central role. At the Munich Motor Show, Samsung is presenting the latest evolution of its Digital Cockpit, a digital dashboard that adds new automated screen adjustment and retraction functions specifically designed for intelligent cars, increasingly capable of driving in autonomous mode.

The inseparable blend of software and hardware characterizes Bosch 's message, as it announces new investments of at least one billion euros in digital mobility solutions. Bosch's example is of great interest to the entire European automotive component supply chain. Autonomous driving solutions, which the German group already has on the road in China with Chery and is about to see applied in Europe thanks to its collaboration with Volkswagen, are the most visible element of a shift in all new product development toward intelligent cars.

Stefan Hartung, president of Bosch, is very explicit: "The car of the future has in common with today's car what a computer has in common with a typewriter. Both have a keyboard and allow you to write a letter. But the similarities more or less stop there." The Auto Sapiens glimpsed at the Munich Motor Show will still have wheels and an engine, but it will be much more than a car.