The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES 2024, was recently held in Las Vegas. The premiere event for consumer tech offers a glimpse at the latest innovations from some of the world’s most noteworthy brands (and some that you haven’t heard of yet). This year’s event brought out more than 130,000 attendees and media seeking out “what’s next” in tech.
Whether you’re curious about add-ons for your iPhone, health tech innovations, or what other daily tasks robots will take over, there’s a product of interest for nearly everyone at CES. One of the areas of focus this year was perhaps unsurprisingly, AI. Products such as an AI-powered baby cry translator, a personal assistant robot run by AI, and cars using ChatGPT were featured at the event.
Here are a few that stood out:
iPhone Add-Ons:
Just when you thought the latest iPhone had it all, add-on products are still being created and showcased. Click Technologies displayed a plug-in iPhone keyboard. Co-founder Jonathan Young hopes to capture audiences such as users with accessibility issues, younger generations, and those who miss the days of the QWERTY keyboard.
Spacetech and AI:
Coreod Space, a French start-up, is using AI for its space helmet invention. It’s the first space psychologist helmet astronauts will use to go to Mars. The AI will be used to collect data throughout the journey.
Pet-Friendly Products:
Apple’s AirTag is a hit for many, whether it’s being used to never lose track of your keys… or your dog. Catalyst has created a dog collar designed to hold an AirTag at an affordable price. I appreciated that this wasn’t necessarily a groundbreaking product featuring new tech but rather something to protect current technology.
Automotive Tech Speeding Up:
EV advancements, remote construction vehicles, and more were showcased this year. A few to name are Honda’s global electric vehicle series, The Saloon, and Space-Hub, which will launch in 2026 for consumers. The Saloon is made up of sustainable materials inside and out. It also contains “M/M*1″, which is a man maximum/machine minimum packing concept – it’s compacted but spacious inside. Another new feature is its steer-by-wire and motion control management systems.
See Through Television:
Samsung and LG showcased some of the thinnest and most transparent TVs we’ve seen to this point. One of the most buzzworthy reveals was LG’s 77-inch transparent OLED screen, which offered an eye-catching transparency mode and also switched to the traditional black TV background. Similar to LG, Samsung’s transparent MICRO-LED-powered TV was also on display.
AI + Healthtech:
One of the trends coming out of CES is the rise of AI in health tech. Whispp, a Dutch startup, has created an AI to help those with vocal impairments speak again. Whispp utilizes audio-to-audio-based AI, to provide a closer match to real-time speech as opposed to other technologies that use speech-to-text or text-to-speech through its AI; some features give users the option to personalize the voice by using recordings of their past or current voice. Small touches like this give AI a less robotic-like feeling and give the users more control.
AI + Wellness:
CES proved again this year that AI will continue to creep into our day-to-day lives. Motion Pillow is a new product that can detect snoring and then elevate the pillow by inflating it to open your nasal airways. The AI in the pillow tracks and responds to the sleeper’s snoring noises. Aside from tracking snoring, it can also detect sleeping patterns and other data.
Outdoorsy Tech:
You can’t always rely on cell service to cooperate during a backpacking trip, but you can rely on the Milo Action Communicator. Similar to an old-school walkie-talkie with vast improvements, the Milo lets you chat freely with others up to 5,000 feet away from those in your group. A single charge powers Milo for all day. The product itself is about the size of a palm and can be clipped easily to a backpack or coat. And yes, there are AI, hands-free functions including pinging others you’re with, which eliminates the hassle of figuring out which button to press. I could see how this could be utilized in other ways besides hiking trips, like at an outdoor music festival or a sports game when 5G coverage is sparse.
CES 2024 showcased a dazzling array of cutting-edge technologies that are set to revolutionize various aspects of our lives. What we also learned is that after a lull caused by the pandemic, CES and the tech industry are back in full swing and innovating at breakneck speed once again, offering remarkable strides poised to reshape our world in the coming years.
