impression: CES 2016

CES'16 SUMMATION: so my quick, whirlwind impressions of the CES floor could be described fairly quickly, however, there are far reaching implications.  I'll not be glib or sundry about them, only for the sake of brevity I'll list what I can to keep them short.  I've also included all the pictures from the floor in the flickr carousel:

 

ULTRA THIN OLED DISPLAYS: LG created particular buzz with a panel that was paper thin, sandwiched between glass.  The components lived in its base.  Beyond the thinness, which was impressive, it also offered extremely dark blacks in the image.  In fact, they lowered the lights around the display, which was pretty much washed in shadow, and it was indistinguishable from the dark around it.  KEY: ultra thin displays, where the components are not part of the panel, will play heavily into every sales display in a few years - the ability to show content from both sides will have AV techs going nuts.

FLEXIBLE DISPLAYS: LG also had a flexible OLED display, however it was not yet ready for production.  KEY: flexible displays are obvious.  Smart phones have staled from a tech perspective, and wearables are gaining ground.  Flex displays will allow for all sorts of innovation with wearable tech, and, yes, AV displays.

INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT): folks seemed to get confused by this concept.  Perhaps think of it this way - all of your devices speak with one another, you need them to, without limits.  You also need them to interact and work in concert, this is IoT.  IoT is also those objects you would not think of communicating: a light, your watch, your shoes, your door, your lock.  They can all speak, not only in a closed loop, but in a wider 'internet'.

HEALTH IoT: this is what called to me and grew out more prominently on the floor than last year. So, imagine your health devices, your wearable FitBit, for example, connects to more than a closed application, but connects to your home security system (as with ADT).  Your home can detect health issues and pre-call the service.  Your family's devices speak to one another, through your service, and call wider utility by tracking them via GPS - then curating all of the data to give you where you were and what you did.

INTERCONNECTED HOME: people still continue to put a lot of money into their home.  Smart washers, dryers, televisions, security, health - all of these together will be so intertwined, you will not see, in just a few years, how you will seamlessly do everything verbally, think of the Amazon Echo, but free, because you shouldn't be charged by something that a service must provide.

HOME & CAR BLUR: all of the things you do at home, are going to be available in your car, so, then, the car becomes an extension of your home.  The IoT above is an ecosystem, all based upon your wearable or RFID, your social, productivity and organizational tools will move between both.  And, with self driving cars all but ready, you will continue your work on the road.

VENDOR MENTIONS: a few of the vendors I spent time with:
- ECOVACS: either with their Winbot or Atmobot, Ecovac Robotics is thinking of singular purpose robots, like the Roomba.  What is nice is that it definitely fills a void for cleaning windows, or a roaming air cleaner.
- VIRTUIX: has the 'Omni', which will mimic the physical movement of a game, with 360 degree ability to walk, run or strafe in your first-person shooters.  You add this with a VR device and you are not only seeing in 360 but providing yourself the physical aspects of a game.
- LULZBOT/mini: a sub $1300 3D printer is in reach, especially one with the space to print more than just a handheld object.

A day in the life of Sensemother from Sen.se on Vimeo.

- AIRWOLF3D: impressed me last year with a fully printed dress that blew my mind.  It showed that fashion will be less limiting and the ability to do more faster is here.  Exampled by 3D printed shows based on complex designs, but weighted to your exact specifications.
- OZOBOT: the best application I believe with OZOBOT is the ability to bring programming out of the pixel and into the physical world.  It gets even the youngest kids involved and they can see their changes in a very tangible way.
- 3DSYSTEMS: offering solutions from design (Cubify Invent), rendering (Cubify Sculpt), and art (Cubify Design), 3D Systems has solutions across a variety of different 3D printer types.
- The3Doodler.com/store: the 3D Doodler is out and available, and, despite the really basic examples they use, I see an artist really getting deep with the tool and creating something profound.
- POLAROID: Super 8 is back, with integrated microphone and digital viewfinder - if the return of vinyl is any indicator Polaroid is onto something with the texture feel of film making a similar comeback.  They also had LED Edison lights and their charismatic Instamatic.

COMING UP: I'll do a piece soon on just how to get around CES quickly, with related maps and information for 2017.