Kia’s announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week were interesting, but not particularly sexy. That’s probably why the CUB concept (formerly known as KND-7) made its North American debut as well. There’s only so much visual interest that an updated UVO infotainment system can garner, after all.
The changes to UVO are significant, however. In preparation for the launch of the electric Soul later this year, UVO has been upgraded with an EV-specific smartphone app. Like similar apps from Ford and BMW, Kia’s UVO EV app will display instant battery status, allow programming of charging time, and remote pre-heating and cooling of the cabin. UVO’s also getting improved voice recognition technology and a new multimedia suite coming in 2015 that includes iHeart Radio, SoundHound music recognition and Yelp reviews. UVO will offer an app store so users can customize telematics individually.
Kia doesn’t plan to stop there. Its User-Centered Driver Concept was also unveiled at CES. Using head-up displays, the system projects a wide, eighteen-inch “augmented reality snapshot” of vehicle speed, navigation and other vital info. It’s accompanied by a 12.3-inch LCD information cluster that uses three-dimensional graphics and eye-tracking technology to provide a consistently clear view. A hand-gesture controller is also included, allowing selection of radio and navigation options with simple gestures. Not impressed yet? There’s also a wireless mobile device charging system that charges smartphones through magnetic induction. As fast as technology’s moving these days, the User-Centered Driver Concept is probably closer to production than you might expect.
Oh, and the CUB concept? It’s just a styling exercise, speculating on a compact city-sized sedan. The CUB is a short sedan with reverse-opening rear doors and no B-pillars. The wraparound grille is an extremely narrow interpretation of Kia’s family face. Power’s provided by Kia’s 1.6 liter direct-injection turbo. In short? The CUB is tasty eye candy, mostly. Driving Fans will be keeping an eye out for features of the User-Centered Driver Concept to pop up, though.
