Welcome to CES, today is the kick off with a few small press previews. I will be updating a few interesting points of today's events here from the Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas.
First up we have the Showstoppers event, where businesses will pitch their startups to a panel, think Shark Tank / Dragons Den kinda, almost similar with added journalists and investors on the panel. If anything interesting is presented I'll be sure to report back, I have been promised a stir-fry cooking robot. Tech to reduce carbon emissions and achieve Net zero. Immersive holographic communication – peak Star Trek. Extending the shelf life of foods. A breakthrough in thermal insulation. Music that relaxes animals. An AI research hub. Curved speakers for better audio. And more gripping stuff, maybe, no camera specific stuff is expected but I will know shortly.
Meanwhile as I sit in the media room I notice one media attendee is using a Lenovo handheld gaming system with a full sized bluetooth mechanical keyboard. Not sure I could do that and ignore the games while connected to the internet, game of Doom anyone ?!
Lots of interesting innovations around AI are incoming and hopefully the whole show isn't bogged down with the same buzzwords. Saying that, I think AI is here to stay unlike 3D TV from many moons ago.
During the week I'll be seeking out the regular news from the big camera brands, but that doesn't mean the weird and wonderful will be ignored, for example one company have figured out data transfer through your skin, we have some amazing Pet cams that use AI and I will look at how Adobe are using AI in post production software, are our creative juices going to run dry or become obsolete ?
The first presser has started and off to a flier with a company whom are doing something I don't understand, Asuene. I'll be downloading the press kit afterwards as it goes over my head. More quality reporting next.
The company founder is getting questions from the panel now, answering questions about data collection from the investor. Carbon questions next from the panel journalist. Still not sure what this is all about but a short presentation.
Next a company that is called Closer, makes compact modular robots to reduce overheads on packaging automation for food, I think. Answers are a bit vague on who the customers are. At least this presentation is clear on the company vision.
Holotch next, hologram commutations. I don't like using FaceTime so no idea how this will work out. Wearing glasses to add AR/VR mixed reality into a meeting, although it's unclear through the Q and A. Using a mobile phone to capture into an API which can be used in many apps. Sounds fun but not sure I want extra hoops to do online meetings. Does this mean you have to be dressed from the waist down for meetings ?
Inter Holdings with some claims about vacuum packing for food, reducing packaging claiming to reduce waste. Milk and wine packaging increase the life of the product. Gets my vote. Technology to be licensed out.
One by One Music making tech to reduce stress in animals via music. Aimed at dogs, the tech will monitor the levels of stress in your pet and play music according to their stress levels. Of course an AI camera will be used to figure out the mood of the dog, and the service is through a subscription model. Expanding to other animals including cattle and other at home pets. Can't wait to blast my cat with Taylor Swift.
Audio company Mirai Speaker. Making a special kinda speaker. Amusing listening to the presenter destroying the Japanese speakers' names. Anyway, aimed at the “elder” market who are hard of hearing. The curved panel speaker helps create a clearer sound stage without turning up the TV, and improves dialogue listening.
Stir fry robot next, my local Asian restaurant will be a bit upset if I can cook the same dish at home, or not. TechMagic says this robot system is for businesses (B2B) and can be used for pasta, stir fry and fries as well. Creating end to end food recipe creation without manual labor. Demo of a restaurant using this tech including automated washing of pans between uses. Self automated cafeterias. Neat. At home products are coming. Robots have to be designed for the specific food type, which sounds like this could get expensive.
A few more companies are talking but not much else to report, been a bit death by slide deck but interesting in parts.
“Trends to Watch” presentation with several keynote speakers, however lots of mic problems preventing anyone from hearing anything meaningful. Talking mostly about how Gen-Z are changing the way technology is used, driven by global connectivity acceleration.
Lots of talk about Starlink and other alternative connectivity solutions, “NextG,” 7G etc. etc. Li-Fi which may be 2-5 years from being on trend. According to the speakers, AI, sustainability, inclusivity, and health tech are pushing the next advancements. Only 9-10% of US consumers are familiar with AI and even fewer are aware of the possibilities of AI across the board with regard to its applications. 74% of those familiar with AI said there should be a balance and the need for regulation at the national level, 65% are concerned with privacy.
Sustainability in solar, wind, and smart farms of devices to generate power.
Mobility gets a mention of EV, E-Bikes, Scooters, Self driving cars, construction vehicles etc; Lots will be featured here at CES. Dealing with range anxiety and delivering value in EV cars is an issue that the industry needs to be addressing with greater focus. Electrification is moving to the air, and sea through all kinds of new technology.
Now streaming is getting a mention and how additional streaming services are consumed in the US and how they are bundled together. I'm not sure I like the heavy bundling but here we are, are we any cheaper than a regular cable service ?! Hybrid mobile and cloud gaming is increasing, future state includes immersive features such as controllers and VR.
So, in short, the future may hold the need to generate more 3D content (and people will be able to watch it while their car drives for them)!
Long event this; 5 hours of walking the halls as small companies pitching their wares, and hoping the big companies might be here with a few surprises. Had to get in early to hussle a seat. Last year LG presented several new Gram super light laptops and I hope for some new ones to come this year with better graphics handling for my use of Capture One, I've been “told” something might be mentioned in this session but nothing concrete yet.
6:40pm local time...
LG does indeed have some new Gram laptops which I'm super excited about. LG also showed some cool monitor tech that can toggle from QHD @240hrz to FHD@480hrz which is pretty cool. I will confirm more during the week when I visit LG, and a new vacuum cleaner which is very unexciting to me but there you go.
MyRow is here with their connected rowing experience, why this is a big deal is because it attaches to a Concept 2 RowErg which is maybe the #1 rowing machine on the market. Concept 2 does not offer any connected rowing experiences of note, but the new Myrow is an attached screen for $499 which gives you a “peloton” experience especially for rowing. As an owner of Concept 2 equipment, I'm very excited about it (and fitness vloggers will be too).
Phonecam by Slimdesign is a wearable AI bodycam which looks amazing, offering some great AI tech to identify all kinds of threats and such in a very compact wearable, has some really good safety features, of course at a price but I'll explore more on that later after a proper interview. A step up from the other bodycams I have reviewed here on Digital Camera World.
Also a GPS pet wearable featuring AI that can record biometric heart health information for cats and dogs from French company Invoxia.
So much to cover but I’m signing off for a hard-earned sleep.
