The huge, American-based technology show CES has changed in recent years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, an online version of the event was held for the first time.
This year, the physical show returned to Las Vegas, Nevada. But the number of attendees decreased by about 70 per cent. In addition, several major technology companies suddenly decided to pull out, The Associated Press reported.
CES is produced by the Consumer Technology Association. It is known as the place where many companies launch their latest technology offerings.
Most of the products featured at CES aren’t releasing until later this year or have no release date set. Here are a few products to be on the lookout for
Image Credits: BMW
BMW shows off a colour-changing car
It’s like something out of a sci-fi flick: push a button, and your car changes color. Based on E Ink tech along the same lines as a Kindle screen, it’ll only flip between black/white/shades of grey… but still — wow. Don’t go looking for a preorder page, though… for now, it’s just a tech demo.
Image Credits: Nvidia
Nvidia launches the $249 GeForce RTX 3050
Between crypto miners, resellers and chip shortages, good graphics cards are hard to come by right now — especially if you don’t want to pay a huge markup. So it makes sense that a great card meant to ship at a budget-friendly price would grab a lot of eyes… but will resellers just gobble up all of these, too?
Image Credits: Nvidia
Nvidia expands its GeForce Now game streaming ecosystem
Nvidia had a good bit of news around its game streaming service, GeForce Now: new games, free subscriptions for select AT&T customers and plans to build it right into Samsung TVs.
Nvidia had quite the CES; while it didn’t break the top stories list, its announcement that it is opening up its Omniverse tech to more creators also pulled a ton of eyes.
Image Credits: Daan Tech
Meet Bob, a cute little dishwasher that saves water and zaps bacteria
Want a dishwasher, but don’t have space and/or don’t want to deal with ripping out cabinets or installing water lines? Bob lives on your counter and you add the water with a pitcher. Plus you can use its water-free UV-C mode to disinfect things like phones, or keys, or other things that can’t get wet. Plus it’s hella cute.
Image Credits: Scanbo
How sweet is your blood? Scanbo gives an answer without poking holes in you
“How sweet is your blood?” writes Haje in a wonderfully Haje headline. It’s early days, but AI company Scanbo is aiming to do glucose monitoring without the painful, exhausting, never-ending finger pricks
Image Credits: Sony
Sony gives first details on next-gen PS VR2 headset for PS5
We’ve known for a while that Sony has been working on a new VR headset for the PS5, but now we know a lot more… like that it’s called PS VR 2, has a much improved display, supports foveated rendering and more.
Image Credits: GAF Energy
GAF Energy takes on Tesla’s Solar Roof
“GAF Energy, a division of the roofing giant, claims its new solar shingles are simple enough to install that no special equipment or knowledge is required, making home renewable energy that much more accessible,” writes Devin Coldewey.
Image Credits: Brian Heater
Power1 is an iPhone battery case with a spot for your AirPods
Ever wished you could just cram your AirPods right into your iPhone instead of carrying around an extra little widget? This case makes it happen. Brian Heater goes hands-on with a prototype.
Image Credits: Hyundai
“By connecting robots to the metaverse, we will be able to move freely between both the real world and virtual reality,” says Hyundai Motor Group President Chang Song in a sentence that explodes my brain a little. Will traveling the planet — or, as Hyundai’s promo video suggests, Mars — in a robot avatar be a totally normal thing at some point?
Image Credits: Sony
Sony explores building electric cars
Sony has been experimenting with cars for a few years now, showing new prototypes at each of the last two CES events. Now they’ve announced the formation of a new company, Sony Mobility Inc., just to figure out how to commercialize their EV efforts.
Image Credits: Schlage / Schlage Encode Plus Smart WiFi Deadbolt
Smart home devices can be great… once you get them up and running. But for most people, just figuring out what works together is a chore. A lot of the biggest tech companies (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) have banded together to build a protocol called Matter, and Christine Hall has a look at how those efforts are going so far.
Image Credits: Yukai Engineering
Are we close to having Rosie the robot roaming our homes? Or are we forever stuck with puck-shaped robo-vacuums that eat our socks? In last week’s Actuator newsletter, Brian Heater gave us a look at where consumer robotics are today, and how it has moved forward over the years. Plus there’s a robot cat that nibbles on your finger for some reason?
Image Credits: Blink Charging
Electric vehicles tend to grab most of the headlines… but what about the boxes that you plug them into to give juice? There’s growing competition in the space, and Rebecca Bellan has an overview of what each team is doing differently.
Image Credits: Cake
E-Bikes and Scooters take charge
What’s left to build in the world of e-bikes and scooters? How can one fancy electric scooter differentiate itself from another? Our mobility team took us on a ride through all of the micro-vehicle news from the show.
Image Credits: wacomka (opens in a new window)/ Getty Images
Rather than anyone headset or “killer app” making VR an overnight ubiquitous thing, its story so far has been one of incremental progression — and CES this year moved it a few more steps down the road.
Image Credits: Samsung
Metaverses metaverse the metaverse
Metaverse? Metaverse! “Metaverse” was by far the buzziest word at CES this year, even if a few companies’ uses of the word was… questionable.
Image Credits: TP-Link
The organization behind CES might not want anyone to call it “Consumer Electronics Show” anymore (as it aims to broaden its scope to all of the technology, not just the electronic bits), but there are still lots, and lots, and lots gizmos and gadgets to be found. Heater took a look at some of the most interesting ones.
Image Credits: Yukai Engineering / BOCCO emo robot
As much as we’d love to pretend otherwise, we all get old. Before we know it, we’ll have a generation of seniors that grew up from day one with the internet always within reach. How can tech evolve to help older people live more comfortably? From robot companions to lightbulbs that might help detect falls, Catherine Shu rounded up the latest advancements in elder tech.
Foldable laptop
Taiwanese computer maker ASUS announced the launch of a foldable laptop computer. It is called the Zenbook 17 Fold. While several companies have already launched foldable versions of phones, the idea has not yet caught on with laptop computers.
The company says its new device is a powerful personal computer, or PC, with a high-quality OLED display that is about 44 centimetres across. But it folds down to about 32 centimetres for easier transport.
AirSelfie camera
Electronics maker AirSelfie launched its latest self-flying camera designed to take “selfie” pictures. The new device, called Air Pix, is a small, light camera that flies through the air and captures high-quality photographs and video. A video on the company’s website explains that Air Pix can fly, frame and take pictures all by itself before landing back on the user’s hand.
All-in-one communication
Technology company Anker announced the launch of an “all-in-one” device designed to improve communications for employees working from home. The AnkerWork B600 sits on top of the computer display like a traditional webcam. But it combines several elements of communication into one device that includes a camera, speaker, microphone and a light.
Robotic Wi-Fi router
TP-Link showed off a new Wi-Fi router that the company says uses robotic antennas to find and lock onto the best wireless signals to improve internet speeds and performance. Images of the Archer AXE200 Omni device show its motorized antennas rising, falling and changing positions in search of strong signals.
Labrador’s assistive robot
Robot maker Labrador announced the launch of its Retriever robot. CES has historically been known to present different kinds of robots, including many designed to look and act like people or animals. But Labrador says its Retriever robot was designed to be truly useful in helping those who need assistance at home.
The small, self-driving machine is designed to hold things and, as its name suggests, also retrieve things. The robot can be controlled by voice commands or from an app on a phone. It can also be programmed based on an exact map of a user’s home. The company says the Retriever is designed “to serve as an extra pair of hands and lighten the load of everyday tasks in the home.”
Samsung Odyssey Ark
South Korean electronics maker Samsung is known for announcing major new products at CES. Many involve bigger television sets with new abilities. This year, the company presented several new computer displays meant to serve people who play video games, known as gamers.
One of them, called the Odyssey Ark, has a curved design and measures nearly 140 centimetres. Samsung demonstrated how the huge display can also be turned on its side, to curve right above the user’s head for a more intense gaming experience.
Self-driving tractor
American-based farm equipment manufacturer John Deere presented a fully self-driving tractor. The company says the vehicle is equipped with six different cameras and a series of sensors to guide the tractor through the fields. Farmers can control the vehicle and see the tractor’s progress in real-time through a mobile device. John Deere says the idea is to help farmers do more work with less equipment and people.
The company noted that such machines can help improve farming methods as the world’s population grows and food demand is expected to rise 50 per cent by 2050.
Matter
Matter is an open-source smart home platform that can connect smart home devices from several different brands. Brands that have announced Matter compatibility include Amazon, Apple, Google, LG, Samsung and more. Matter launches in June 2022.
Playstation
PlayStation announced its newest virtual reality headset, the VR 2. Compatible with the PS5, the new headset has OLED displays and a 110-degree field of view. It will be released later this year.
Lenovo
Lenovo announced several new laptops, including additions to its popular ThinkPad line. The ThinkPad Z series uses AMD Ryzen Pro processors and includes the 13.3-inch Z13 and 16-inch Z16. The new collection will be released this spring.
Sony
Sony’s new Bravia XR Master Series A95K QD-OLED TV is the first-ever quantum dot OLED TV. It uses a Samsung-made QD-LED panel and comes in 55-inch and 65-inch versions. More details will be announced in spring 2022.
John Deere
John Deere unveiled the first-ever autonomous tractor — no, not an autonomous car, tractor. The company says that its invention can help combat global food insecurity as food demand increases worldwide.
BMW
BMWdebuted its newest paint technology at CES: paint that changes colours. It uses the technology underlying e-readers, E Ink, which uses differently charged particles to display different colours, usually white or black. This BMW color-changing paint can change your car’s colour to white, grey or black and back again.
