• by Karl Greenberg , January 5, 2016

Much of the auto buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show is on car connectivity, with automakers announcing partnerships to enhance how they communicate with smartphones and other devices. But Kia and Ford have both used CES to announce big plans to further their development of self-driving cars. 

Kia says it is putting $2 billion on the table to fast-track what it is calling a new sub-brand. The Seoul, Korea-based company plans to develop a program called Drive Wise, which it says is the future “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.”  

Kia says Drive Wise is more an intuitive human interface platform than a single function, one that will “enable Kia to introduce intelligent safety technologies to its future model range, “helping to eliminate potential dangers -- and for many, the boredom -- of driving, while changing the ways in which owners interact with their vehicles.” 

Some of the features: Highway Autonomous Driving, which uses radar and camera detection systems to interpret lane markings, a feature that some automakers offer to some extent right now; Urban Autonomous Driving, which Kia says applies GPS and sensors to identify the car’s position on the road, “allowing it to navigate through densely-congested city environments while responding to live traffic updates”; Preceding Vehicle Following, an “enhanced lane-keeping system”; an Emergency Stop System that analyzes the driver’s face to make sure he or she is alert; Traffic Jam Assist, which keeps a safe distance from the car in front; and Autonomous Valet Parking, allowing drivers to exit the car and let the vehicle park itself remotely.

Kia says Nevada recently granted Kia a special license to test the new technologies on public roads. 

Ford is tripling its fleet of fully autonomous Ford Fusion Hybrid test vehicles. The automaker will have 30 vehicles undergoing advanced engineering testing on roads in California, Arizona and Michigan under its Ford Smart Mobility plan.  

Many observers had expected Ford, which has pretty much worked alone on its self-driving tech, to use its Tuesday morning presentation at CES to reveal a partnership with Google to co-develop technology for vehicle autonomy. Seems not. The announcement was for an Amazon partnership for a program in which in-vehicle software can connect with home devices.