Yahoo Finance

Panasonic is virtually rolling into CES 2021 with a slew of announcements detailing everything from the company’s efforts in the automotive space to in-home audio technologies and televisions.

And while the coronavirus pandemic means there are no big in-person reveals, the firm is still making some impressive news during the all-virtual version of American’s preeminent annual consumer technology showcase.

“We've really reinvented ourselves as it relates to, you know, CES,” Panasonic North America CEO Michael Moskowitz told Yahoo Finance Live. “We have some really awesome things that we're going to be announcing.”

Panasonic hits the road

Part of those announcements have to do with Panasonic’s continued work in the automotive industry. This year, the company has announced three new products and initiatives including a futuristic heads-up display, a new in-car charging platform, and an audio collaboration with Klipsch to bring Dolby Atmos sound to vehicles.

The heads-up display, known as Augmented Reality HUD, provides drivers with a host of information via an augmented reality overlay directly in their line of sight. For instance, the system can alert drivers to pedestrians or bicyclists, speed limits, bridge heights, upcoming turns, and driving directions.

“We've developed...new heads up displays that really provide more intuitive information gathering experience, in terms of how you look at things,” Moskowitz said.

The system ensures visuals are always in the driver’s sight line using eye-tracking technology, and the augmented reality markers stay on the appropriate real-world objects without bouncing around due to vehicle vibrations thanks to Panasonic’s camera image stability algorithm.

Heads-up displays like the Augmented Reality HUD have been in vehicles for years, but it's the addition of up-to-the-second data that helps set Panasonic’s solution apart.

The company’s wireless charging solution, meanwhile, features a new moving coil setup in which the charging coil you place your smartphone on freely moves inside of the charger to ensure it has the best alignment with your device. What’s more, both the moving coil and a separate static coil setup promise some of the fastest wireless charging around, capable of rivaling even tethered in-car chargers.

Then there’s the company’s audio announcement, which is a proof-of-concept marrying Klipsch speakers to a vehicle to enable Dolby Atmos immersive audio capabilities in future cars. In other words, rather than just hearing music from the right and left speakers as with standard stereo, you’d hear audio in your car coming from all directions.