CES – 2021 – Innovations Continue During Pandemic With On-Line Presentations

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CES 2021 was certainly unique this year. In past years, we’ve attended on multiple days and visited scores of press conferences, exhibits and booths where we learned about the newest innovations in consumer electronics. This year, instead of driving to the Convention Center in Las Vegas, we visited virtually. It just isn’t the same, but still, there was much to see and learn on-line.

Many innovations have been accelerated as a direct result of the pandemic.We have seen advances in E commerce, telemedicine, and live streaming. Many folks are reluctant to go to grocery stores or restaurants, so they order on-line through companies like Instacart and Uber Eats. Corporations are now holding meetings through Zoom and other on-line communication vehicles.

We learned that there has been an upsurge in the number of robots cleaning houses, stocking shelves, and delivering medicines. The technology supporting these companies did not exist several years ago.

Gaming has accelerated as more folks spend time at home. Microsoft announced an upgraded version of their popular X-Box game console. Gamers now have the ability to access over 100 games through multiple devices.

 

Photo courtesy V Medical

I attended a virtual meeting with V Medical which was presented by ShowStoppers. According to Eric Thomas, CEO and co founder of V Medical, they manufacture the world’s only healthcare smartphone case. The case is compatible with Apple and Android phones. The user starts by downloading an app. The phone measures your body’s vital statistics. By touching functions on the case the user can measure body temperature, heart rate (HRV), blood pressure, blood oxygen, pulse and breathing rate and even electro cardio gram (ECG/EKG) The data can be saved for discussions with your doctor.

 

Photo courtesy Samsung

 

Samsung continues to work on immersive TV. Grace Dolan, Vice President of Home Entertainment Integrated Marketing at SamsungElectronics America, said that her job is, “to be obsessed with the consumer and make sure that their experience with our product is fantastic.” According to her, they strive to make consumers feel that they are physically at events. Better sound and more sound options. Improved picture quality as part of next generation.. Viewers expect more interactivity.

 

 

Photo by Adam Glanzman for 829

 

Hungry for some ice cream? ColdSnap™ is a rapid freezing appliance that produces single servings of frozen confections and frozen beverages in less than two minutes. According to Robert Devaney, Vice President/Senior VP/Executive, the user simply puts a cold snap pod in the unit, waits 120 seconds and ice cream comes out. It is your own instant ice cream machine. It is also possible to make frozen cocktails and other frozen beverages in the unit.

Photo courtesy Heatbox

Tired of cold boring lunches? Heatbox is a portable box with a stunning and natural design that is used to heat food. You can carry your lunch or snacks with you. It is Bluetooth-connected and controllable (IOS and Android). The food is heated with a proprietary steamed system

Hearing aid manufacturer Oticon, Inc. introduced its Oticon More hearing aid, They boasted that it is the first built, “with an onboard deep neural network that gives people with hearing loss a better experience.” It joins a growing number of other hearing assistance devices that use technology to augment hearing.  

Photo courtesy Oticon More

According to company representatives, the deep neural network inside the hearing aid is trained on 12 million real-life sounds, meaning it can process speech in noise more like the human brain does, and gives the brain more information needed to hear sonic details. It’s built for people with mild to severe hearing loss. At a Showstoppers seminar moderated by Annette Mazevski, Manager of Technical Assessment, we were told that the new hearing aid improves wearers’ speech understanding, reduces the effort needed to listen and helps them remember more of what is being said, even when there’s a lot of background noise. 

The hearing aid has a rechargeable battery. It can connect to your iPhone or Android device for streaming or making phone calls. And the Oticon ON app lets you control the device from your smartphone, adjusting the volume, checking the battery level and tracking your aid if you lose it.

Staring at a computer screen is not the best way to attend CES and learn about all of the new innovations and products, but this viewer is glad for the opportunity to look ahead to progress and innovations in technology. That being said, I for one will look forward to attending CES 2022 from January 5th-8th in Las Vegas. 

Article by Burt Davis and Dianne Davis

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