With the third installment of our reader reports from CES, Spencer Hooks takes us to the automotive section of the show:
Cops Need Gadgets Too
Around the outside of the North Hall are tons of small companies selling their wares – some interesting, most not. The PDG Car Intelligence System has a collection of products including one aimed at police cruisers. The TDC-168B T-Way includes both fingerprint and license-plate recognition. It’s designed to make the life of a CHiPs officer easier. Basically, they can pull you over and run your plate without any input into the system. Then, if they deem it necessary, they can also grab your fingerprint and run that as well. I’ve never seen a gadget designed for the police at CES before, but hey, it’s a niche market and I’m sure there is money to be made. Good news for the good guys – bad news for the bad guys…
For Those About To Tow…
Magna Donnelly has several camera/display products for automotive monitoring. The TowCheck is a camera that mounts to the rear gate of your mammoth SUV and allows you to see your tow hitch so that you can line it up and hook-up easier. The system also includes a monitor that you mount to your dash or windshield to view the hitch. The BabyVue is a similar product that is designed for an internal mount of the camera. It allows you to monitor Jr. in the back seat and keep an eye on him. Again, the system includes a display, but this time it is designed to mount to the rear-view mirror and can be folded up and out of the way.
Spinning Subwoofers
Those spinning wheels are all the rage on custom cars and Scosche has taken that same concept and applied it to subwoofers. This definitely goes into the category of “it’s the little things”, but it is innovative none the less. This product has already received awards from CES and has been nominated by TechTV as well. The chrome speaker grill looks like a wheel and is motorized. The motor can be wired into the audio system so the grill spins faster as you increase the volume. This is a product that should do very well in it’s market.
