In EE Times On Air’s CES 2019 special, journalist Jesse Will and host David Finch explore how cars might become adaptive media spaces: quieter cabins, motion-matched virtual reality, immersive sound, and interiors that respond to passengers. They describe noise cancellation as the closest-to-reality idea in the conversation; mood-responsive and virtual-world concepts remain demonstrations rather than established production features.
What is the EE Times podcast episode about?
Episode 9 of EE Times On Air is a 21-minute field conversation recorded at CES 2019 and published on January 12, 2019. Host David Finch speaks with Jesse Will, introduced as a freelance writer based in Austin whose work covered entertainment, technology, cars, and other subjects for outlets including Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, and The Wall Street Journal.
The conversation’s organizing idea is that a vehicle could become more than a transport cabin: it might adjust sound, images, lighting, and physical sensations to suit a passenger’s journey. Finch sums up one strand of the show-floor discussion with the phrase “Quiet is the new loud.” Will describes a range of concepts, from reducing road noise to turning the cabin into a theater or workspace.
Which CES car technology seemed closest to reality?
Active road-noise cancellation
Will points to Bose’s QuietComfort Road Control as an example of a system intended to counter harsh road noise. As he explains it, accelerometers and microphones provide information about vehicle movement and sound; software uses that input to generate a cancellation signal through the audio system. The goal is a calmer cabin, not simply louder entertainment.
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That goal may matter particularly in battery-powered vehicles, where reduced engine noise can make tire and road sounds more conspicuous. The interview does not provide an independent performance test or establish a rollout date for the Bose concept. Still, Finch and Will frame noise cancellation as the most imminent of the ideas they discuss. Will calls it “probably the least exciting but the most exciting because it is imminent.”
How did Audi propose matching a car’s movement to virtual reality?
Audi Experience Ride
Audi’s Experience Ride demonstrated the idea of using a vehicle’s motion to shape what a passenger sees in virtual reality. As a car turns through a curve, for example, the virtual scene could move in a corresponding way. The intended benefit was to make the visual experience better match the passenger’s physical movement and potentially reduce motion sickness.
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The demonstration also explored the reverse: a stationary vehicle whose suspension moves in sync with home-theater or action-film content. This is a concept for linking physical motion and media, not evidence that a particular production car offered the feature.
What other CES concepts changed the cabin experience?
Predictive suspension
Will describes Audi and Mercedes systems that used cameras to anticipate pavement and adjust a vehicle’s ride height or suspension response. In the conversation, these are discussed as demonstrations of how sensors could let a vehicle react to the road ahead. The episode does not identify a specific 2019 production model equipped with the described capability.
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Nissan Invisible to Visible
Nissan’s Invisible to Visible concept aimed to combine real and virtual information in the driver’s surroundings. External data could be used to surface events ahead or around a corner, while a conversational three-dimensional avatar might appear inside the cabin. The interview presents this as a way to make otherwise unseen information visible, not as a deployed feature with established safety outcomes.
Continental’s structural speakers
Continental was developing actuators that could make vehicle panels—including doors and windows—produce sound, reducing reliance on conventional speaker units. Will said the approach could save about 30 pounds per car and use less energy than conventional speakers, with manufacturers then looking toward a roughly 2021 development timeframe. Those figures and timing are his account of a development concept in a 2019 interview, not independently verified production specifications or proof that the expected adoption occurred.
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Roaming theaters and workspaces
Intel, Warner, and BMW presented a concept interior built around passengers who would not always face forward. With ambient lighting and immersive sound, the vehicle could function as a mobile theater or workspace. Will described the broader ambition as a quiet cabin where passengers could watch a movie or work while an automated vehicle drove. The discussion does not establish when such a cabin would be commercially available.
Kia READ and mood-responsive media
Kia’s Real-Time Motion-Adaptive Driving concept, developed with MIT, used facial recognition and AI to infer a passenger’s mood, then adjust music, seat vibration, lighting, and scent. Will recounts that the system read his neutral expression as overly serious and played energetic electronic music. The anecdote illustrates the concept’s intended personalization—and the possibility that an automated interpretation of a person’s expression may not reflect how they actually feel.
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How do the concepts compare?
| Concept | Passenger benefit discussed | Sensing or computation described | Vehicle change or evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bose QuietComfort Road Control | Less harsh road noise and a quieter cabin | Accelerometers, microphones, and software generate a cancellation signal | Audio-system approach; Will and Finch regarded noise cancellation as the most imminent idea, but the episode gives no launch date or independent test |
| Audi Experience Ride | Motion-matched VR intended to reduce motion sickness; synchronized movement for media | Vehicle motion coordinated with virtual content | Demonstration; no production availability established |
| Predictive suspension | Adjust vehicle response to pavement ahead | Cameras anticipate road conditions | Discussed as demonstrations, not tied to a specific production model |
| Nissan Invisible to Visible | Surface events beyond direct view and provide an in-cabin conversational avatar | External data combined with virtual imagery | Concept; the interview establishes no deployed safety benefit |
| Continental panel speakers | Sound from vehicle structure, with potential weight and energy savings | Actuators make panels function as speakers | Development concept; about 30 pounds of potential savings per car is Will’s 2019 estimate, not a verified production result |
| Intel, Warner, and BMW interior | Entertainment or work in a cabin not organized around forward-facing seats | Ambient lighting and immersive sound | Concept interior; no availability date stated |
| Kia READ | Media and cabin settings tailored to inferred mood | Facial recognition and AI | Concept demonstration using music, seat vibration, lighting, and scent |
What are the human-factors and privacy questions?
The ideas rely on interpreting signals about either the road or the people inside the car. Cameras and external data can support predictive or augmented displays, while facial analysis could drive personalized settings. The episode raises these capabilities as possibilities but does not address data retention, consent, security, or whether any system’s interpretation is reliable enough for safety-critical decisions. Those questions matter most where a feature could distract a driver, expose sensitive information, or treat an uncertain inference as fact.
The concepts also differ in how much they alter the vehicle. Road-noise cancellation builds on microphones, sensors, software, and audio hardware; structural speakers would change what parts of the cabin produce sound; and roaming theater layouts imply a more fundamental redesign of passenger seating and cabin use. The interview supplies no comparative testing that would establish performance across these approaches.
Where to hear the episode
The official EE Times episode page and transcript identify the program as Episode 9, hosted by David Finch with Jesse Will as guest. Across its examples, the conversation moves from the practical aim of a quieter ride to more speculative visions of cars that adapt media and physical surroundings to their passengers.
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