Prepare to meet your future
The CES 2018 is a giant mishmash of future innovation in technology - Part I
brunch Updated: Jan 20, 2018 23:53 IST
Hindustan Times
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is by far the biggest technology event on earth. Spread across 17 locations and covering about five million square feet of technology-infused gadgetry, nothing comes close to this giant mishmash of future innovation. It is a great window to our future. In a two-part series, I’m going to take you on a journey to prepare you to meet your future.
The wall
Samsung broke the biggest barrier to large screen TVs by unveiling a giant 140-inch TV. Except, it isn’t just one screen. It’s made up of multiple MicroLED TVs that are merged as one borderless screen. Thus, you can now create a TV that is 60 inches or covers a whole 300-inch wall. Fittingly, Samsung called it ‘The Wall’.
The roll
LG went the other way – just rolled up and played coy. Yes, the 65-inch TV from LG actually just rolls itself into its own little enclosure. Press a button and the screen slowly unfolds itself into a giant TV. Let’s wait for a 1-inch rolled phone to fold out into a 12-inch tablet.
The anorexic
Acer has got into the habit of breaking world records and when it becomes a habit, you’ve got to sustain. Thus came out the world’s thinnest notebook. The Swift 7 is 0.39-inch thick and weighs just about a kilogram.
The big short
It looks like a stunning piece of modern furniture. Press a button and up pops a giant 120-inch projection image. The Sony Ultra Short Throw LSPX-A1 projector sits nine inches from your wall and has a built-in surround speaker system. You need nothing else now for your home theatre – just $30,000 to buy this awesomeness.
The dream
A car that looks like a billion bucks, LiDAR-based autonomous driving, all-electric, a driving range of 500 miles and a charge time of nine minutes. That’s what the all-new Fisker Emotion car is about.
The airtricity
Imagine a device that can charge all your devices within an 80-foot radius. This is electricity through the air. Powercast’s PowerSpot hub literally charges your gadgets in the air!
The everyman
A drone that can do most things a drone is expected to do – a 720p camera, fully remote controlled, Intel and built-in DJI technology, programmable with MIT’s scratch language and a price of $99. When Indian drone laws get cemented, Tello will be in every household.
The flusher
Tech gets into the bathroom. Alexa is built into the Numi. You can ask it to flush, lift the seat before you pee, activate the warm or ice-cold water bidet spray and demand it to play your favourite music to get you into the right mood to take out all your extras.
The cuddler
The Somnox is a robot with very different sensibilities. All it wants to do is cuddle. It simulates human breathing and imparts soothing sounds of heartbeats, lullabies and guided meditation. It calms you down and gives you a deep sleep.
The follower
Smart luggage is so yesterday. Next gen luggage now follows you and doesn’t need to be dragged or pushed. Travelmate Robotics and 90Fun’s Puppy 1 are suitcases that follow you and never bang into anyone or anything. Just what you always wanted!
Smart luggage is so yesterday. Next gen luggage now follows you around and doesn’t need to be dragged and pushed. CES was full of that tech
I’m just getting warmed up. CES 2018 had another 20,000 new product launches. Next week I’m going to bring you the best of that.
Rajiv Makhni is managing editor, Technology, NDTV, and the anchor of Gadget Guru, Cell Guru and Newsnet 3
From HT Brunch, January 21, 2018
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First Published: Jan 20, 2018 22:26 IST