CES 2021 was not the thousands of attendees and busy conference halls that we’ve come to expect from the world’s foremost tech show, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact how we live and move.

Instead 2021 saw the first-ever, all-digital CES opening to audiences around the world. Although the format for this year was a little different, the foundations of CES – innovation, connection and collaboration – remained as clear to see as ever: more than 1,900 exhibitors, representing the entire tech spectrum, attended to reveal their plans for the future.

From automotive breakthroughs to smart city visions, 5G updates and a huge focus on personal connectivity, future working environments and health, CES 2021 showed that the world has continued to think big and innovate despite the ongoing challenges it faces.

For us at Bridgestone, we returned to CES this year to present Bridgestone World, an interactive virtual city of the future that gave attendees the chance to explore the advanced solutions and data-driven mobility services we’re working on, including our breakthrough tyre material SUSYM, the award-winning fleet management solution WEBFLEET, and the preventative maintenance solutions we’re developing that could one day revolutionise fleet uptime.

As we continue to transform as a business and contribute to society’s advancement with care, confidence and creativity, Bridgestone World showed how Bridgestone is reimagining itself to help people and businesses manage their vehicles in a safer, smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable way, while also giving a glimpse into our vision for the future of mobility.

We also saw exciting announcements from other leaders and exciting newcomers in our industry as we continue to journey closer to the future of mobility. Roughly as tall as a two-story house and weighing up to 687.5 tonnes – as much as 15 passenger planes – when loaded, Caterpillar's autonomous mining mega-trucks became one of the biggest – in every sense of the word – stories coming out of CES 2021.

We also heard about the world’s first autonomous racecar, which will be on display in the Indy Autonomous Challenge. We’re proud to be the official tyre supplier for the Challenge, an event pioneering the convergence of autonomous technologies and motorsports.

Lightyear One, the world's first ultra-energy-efficient, long-range, solar-powered electric car – developed by four-time winners of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge – was one of 90 Dutch companies in the NL Tech Pavilion at CES 2021. Capable of travelling an unprecedented 725 kilometres on one charge, Lightyear One will arrive on the European market on custom-engineered Bridgestone tyres in late 2021.

Despite the digital format of CES 2021, the show still provided a platform to engage with other innovators and leaders to imagine a better future for mobility. At Bridgestone, we presented live and on-demand presentations to CES attendees that explored how our smart tyre technology, advanced data analytics and new business models are putting tyres at the centre of a sustainable mobility system, both now and in the future.

Sessions from Bridgestone Americas CEO Paolo Ferrari on Bridgestone’s vision of mobility, Vice President International Bridgestone Mobility Solutions Raj Bajaj on how telematics is helping businesses navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, and an on-demand video tour of Bridgestone World from Bridgestone Americas’ Director of Strategic Planning and Corporate Strategy Maria Dunn (found in the YouTube video above), showcased to CES 2021 our leadership in advanced solution and sustainable mobility. Together with our world-leading partners, like Microsoft and more recently Amazon Web Services, we’re focusing on fostering new opportunities for collaboration across the mobility and technology spectrums to help shape a sustainable future of mobility.

Bridgestone’s sessions from CES 2021 – and much more from our appearance at the digital conference – are ¬available to watch on our Bridgestone Europe YouTube channel. And you can experience our interactive virtual city of the future, Bridgestone World, here: www.futureofmobility.bridgestone.