Samsung Electronics announced its new $60 SmartThings Station, which the company describes as “an easy-to-use, affordable smart home hub and fast charging pad.” The product is designed to provide consumers with “simple control and interoperability of multiple connected devices.” SmartThings Station is one of numerous solutions touted at CES that are compatible with a growing collection of smart home products, including those that are labeled as Matter devices. The Matter home automation standard, which helps connect devices built with the Thread low-power mesh networking protocol, had a significant presence at CES. Continue reading CES: Samsung Introduces an Easy-to-Use Smart Home Hub

Ohio-based startup Contact CI has launched its Maestro EP haptic gloves that work by mirroring the human body’s sheathed tendon design. They provide light- to moderate-haptic feedback by pulling on a cloth sock covering each fingertip. There is also vibrotactile feedback technology in the glove’s fingertips. The “multi-force ergonomic haptics” product is compatible with any system designed for hand tracking (for example: Meta Quest 2). The Department of Defense and enterprises are already purchasing the gloves at $3,750 a pair, primarily for simulation training purposes, while Contact CI continues to improve the design for a wider commercial rollout. Continue reading CES: Contact CI Shows Maestro EP Haptic Feedback Gloves

The idea that gaming might be the industry sector that eventually leads everyone else into the metaverse is being discussed extensively online and elsewhere. During a compelling CES panel, GamesBeat lead writer Dean Takahashi moderated an exploratory conversation about that possibility with a group of today’s leading game innovators and executives. Takahashi noted that the panel’s concept comes in part from Meta vice president of content & play Jason Rubin, who said that the metaverse will need a game engine, therefore game developers will be the first to create it. Continue reading CES: Experts Ask If Gaming Will Lead Shift to the Metaverse

The most impressive feature of the Magic Leap 2 demo at CES 2023 involves Global and Segmented Dimming. Global Dimming is a feature that dims the entire display without dimming digital content to make text and images more solid and precise. Segmented Dimming dims specific portions of the display to enhance legibility and clarity of selected content, and can also be used to focus attention to areas or components of interest. Both of these features produced outstanding visual results during our CES demo. Segmented Dimming produced very bright digital objects in front of a well-lit room, while Global Dimming could be used for VR immersion. Continue reading CES: Magic Leap 2 Exhibits Impressive Dimming Capabilities

Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada), a former computer programmer, brought Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Ben Ray Luján (D-New Mexico) to the CES stage to talk about their top technology interests in the new year. All of them serve on committees with core interests in the future of technology. In addition to serving on six committees, Rosen is on the subcommittee on cybersecurity; Warner is chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence among other committee assignments; and Luján is a member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation among others. Continue reading CES: Federal Tech and Innovation Priorities for the New Year

Cybersecurity was a major topic at CES 2023, and one panel described strategies around one of the important and often ignored components: people. Moderated by Strategic Cyber Ventures chief executive Hank Thomas, panelists examined people’s personal relationship with cybersecurity, how they fall victim to cybercrime and how they could be incentivized to take more responsibility for their online activities. Terranet Ventures executive in residence Carole House, who was recently director of cybersecurity at the National Security Council in The White House, said that seeing individuals badly impacted “elevates cybercrime as a national imperative.” Continue reading CES: Focus on People Component for Strong Cyber Strategy

Inspired by the “universal human desire to experience joy, wonder and amazement, moments that move people’s hearts and connect them to one another, what we call Kando,” Sony chairman, president and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida began Sony’s CES media briefing by celebrating creators. Evident was a more unified corporate direction and concrete examples of Sony divisions working together. Movies, television, music, games and sports, and ways for audiences to experience them, were prominent examples. Following an exhilarating clip from the upcoming feature “Gran Turismo,” based on the PlayStation game, the prototype for the first Sony Honda Mobility car rolled out. Continue reading CES: Sony Focuses on Creators and the Power of Technology

At CES this year, Canon and Sony both showcased multi-camera capture technologies with an eye towards attracting a younger generation of viewers. Canon’s Free Viewpoint video system (using an AI-powered ring of high-resolution cameras in a stadium or arena) and Sony’s combined tools from its Hawk-Eye vision processing company and recently-acquired AI-based data visualization firm Beyond Sports can create low-latency virtual reproductions of live sports. The capture from multiple angles enables the virtual reproduction to offer interaction that a simple video stream does not, though each technology is distinct in what it offers. Continue reading CES: Canon and Sony Tools Provide a Virtual Take on Sports

Both the European Parliament (the EU’s law-making body) and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were represented on a CES panel on “AI Rules and Tools,” moderated by CTA vice president of emerging technology policy Doug Johnson. Also on the panel were executives from Facebook parent Meta Platforms and insurance provider Elevance Health, for a robust discussion on how to arrive at standards and regulations for the powerful — but often industry-based — AI technologies that will also be accepted by countries around the world and industries with competing interests. Continue reading CES: Addressing Challenges to Creating Global AI Standards

Actor and director LeVar Burton, the multi-award-winning host of PBS’ “Reading Rainbow,” has more recently made a prominent name for himself as a podcaster, with 25 million downloads of his “LeVar Burton Reads,” which features storytelling. During a CES panel on “SXM Media: The Evolution of the Podcast Industry,” moderated by SiriusXM vice president and global head of revenue partnerships Kelli Hurley, Burton and two other panelists described the factors that have made podcasting such a dynamic industry sector, for creators and audiences. For Burton, having creative control was key. Continue reading CES: Podcasting Industry Evolves as Listenership Skyrockets

Smart infrastructure is already a reality said panelists on “Smart Infrastructure: Building the Future,” a CES discussion moderated by RePure co-founder and president Michael Don Ham. “It’s not the future, it’s now and it is opening up a lot of business models for decarbonization and electrification,” declared Logical Buildings co-founder and chief executive Jeff Hendler. ADT head of multifamily Scé Pike agreed, noting that the possibility of a recession is not to be feared in this context. “Times of recession are the opportunity for true creative destruction when you can build the future,” she suggested. Continue reading CES: Thought Leaders Discuss Status of Smart Infrastructure

CoinDesk managing editor Toby Bochan, who moderated a CES panel on “How to Keep Control of Your Crypto” noted the industry is in a “crypto winter” in the aftermath of the FTX meltdown. Panelists pinpointed crypto wallets and other self-custody technology to create trust and ease-of-use for wary customers. Bitski head of product Jasmine Xu noted that newbies face unfamiliar phraseology and uncertainty about the security of their crypto assets. Exchanges are intimidating and untrustworthy for many considering crypto. Xu’s company stores keys in a digital wallet, she said, to “give consumers the safety they need.” Continue reading CES: Crypto Leaders Weigh Benefits of Wallets, Self-Custody

Mobile Electronics Association president Chris Cook quizzed CES panelists on innovations in the smart car space. Accenture digital strategist Monika Minarcin noted that AI doesn’t just power autonomous driving but also voice recognition, digital assistants and precision marketing. At Humanising Autonomy, chief executive Maya Pindeus is using behavioral AI to build a global standard for interaction between people and machines. DarkStar Vision chief executive Joe Scalisi is working on a passive color night vision solution that he believes can “enhance the automotive sector” with rear view mirrors and motorcycle helmets. Continue reading CES: Digital Disruptors Focus on the Connected Car Industry

The sluggish consumer adoption of virtual reality has pointed to a broader hesitation with immersive technologies that separate the user from their environment. In response, a niche market has evolved for technologies that unobtrusively live on the body while contributing an augmented sensory experience when needed. (See earrings that also offer directional audio from a company called Nova, for instance.) The Japanese exhibit section of the CES Eureka Park startup arena, however, showcased a more environmentally integrated — although still individualized — vision of immersion. Continue reading CES: Targeted Sensory Immersion at the Japanese Exhibition

The role customer intelligence plays in delivering seamless, personal experiences was the topic of three conference sessions organized by Acxiom, a leading customer intelligence company and data-driven solution provider. While the industry leaders and panel discussions drew from the automotive sector, the insights have broader implications. Details were also released in Acxiom’s Automotive Customer Experience study. “These survey findings highlight how critical it is for brands to have a genuine understanding of people and how hard it can be to deliver the right message at the right time,” said Steve Schmith, director of automotive strategy at Acxiom. Continue reading CES: Executives Explore the Impact of Customer Intelligence