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YESTERDAY by: Tim Bradshaw
This year’s Consumer Electronics Show is the craziest yet, as the falling cost of sensors and connectivity means the internet of things is finally a reality.

It turns out that this reality is more weird than wonderful with everything from shoes to toothbrushes being turned “smart”, whether they need it or not.

Here are the hits and misses of CES 2017, which runs in Las Vegas until Sunday.

Hits

Folding selfie drone
My favourite this year is the Hover Camera Passport drone. While unlikely to challenge DJI’s Phantom range in general-purpose aerial photography, this compact Chinese quadcopter, which folds to the size of a hardback book, is a remarkable feat of design and engineering.


A carbon-fibre cage around the propellers means it can be launched and caught by hand or carried in a bag without risk of injury to human or drone. Computer vision allows its 4K camera to recognise its owner’s face and follow them — no complex controller needed — while another sensor keeps it flying at a steady height. At $600 it is more expensive than a selfie stick but is simpler, and less dangerous, than any drone I have tested.

Walls have ears

AI is everywhere at CES


Play
To be useful in the home, virtual a.ssistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s a.ssistant have to be able to hear commands from anywhere. Smart desktop speakers such as the Echo work fine in a kitchen but Amazon’s black cylinders are hardly elegant. Chipmaker Nvidia envisions tiny microphones that are as ubiquitous and subtle as light switches.

Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., holds the Nvidia Spot © Bloomberg
Its Spot is a mic with artificial intelligence, wired into the wall, that taps into Google’s a.ssistant. Nvidia’s Shield, its television streaming box, is also gaining Google’s AI, acting as a hub for Spots around the home. It could be the system the “smart home” has been waiting for. Pricing and availability have still to be announced.

Robots for kids

The machines are coming for your children — and they want to help. Leka is a cute robo-ball with a smiling face and rainbow lights. Its range of educational games is designed to help children with autism and other learning disabilities, and the French start-up’s device is a meaningful antidote to the pointless frippery of CES. Leka raised $132,000 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo last summer and will start shipping this year.


Meanwhile, toy maker Mattel’s Aristotle system is an AI-powered robot nanny. A combination of Echo-style smart speaker, connected camera and colour-shifting lightbulb, it can play games with children, read bedtime stories or send babies back to sleep with soothing sounds when it sees them wake up.

For the $300 bundle, which goes on sale this summer, Mattel is drawing on tech from Microsoft and Qualcomm. It is emphasising the security of its system.

Misses

‘Smart’ showers


Moen - U shower system controller
The smart home has reached the bathroom. Moen’s U shower system allows you to control the heat of your shower from your smartphone via WiFi. For a price of more than $1,000, excluding installation, you can save those vital seconds spent waiting for the water to warm up. Moen’s app sends you a notification when the shower reaches the desired temperature. Just hope you don’t get hacked while standing nekkid.

Talking rubbish



Simplehuman Sensor Can at CES 2017
One of the undeniable trends of CES 2017 is the introduction of voice control to devices from cars and TVs to washing machines and fridges. The most extreme example is Simplehuman’s Sensor Can. With this kitchen bin, instead of exerting yourself by stepping on a pedal, you say “open can” or, for a real laugh, “open Sesame”. I might control lights in my flat from the couch via Alexa or Google’s Home, but even I am not that lazy, especially as I would have to walk to the bin anyway.

Underwater drones


PowerVision’s latest drone takes to the seas, not the skies. Controlled by a smartphone, the PowerRay can dive to 30m and beam live 4K video to the surface. Its Fishfinder sonar alerts fishermen to a catch. You can even view the drone’s footage using a VR headset. Instead of peaceful disconnection and a relaxing return to nature, fishing, too, can be all about pressing screens to your face.

wwnuts said:

my sister just got back from CES


biggest miss to her was a "smart hairbrush" lmao

Wow nothing but surveillance stuff.
.
Is a fricking hoverboard too much to ask for?

Meh.

a smart shower...? Wow.

BaldBear said: Nothing great about this year show... as always a hyper thin TV.. Until we see portable LARGE screens miss me with the "future of television"

I think the "smart home" AI systems are promising, granted we're still in the early stages of them but this is probably the closest thing to the jetson's that we've had probably ever lol

Bleezy said: a smart shower...? Wow.

literally put some internet connectivity, a mobile OS, and a little automation and call it "smart"

incase you want to live stream some shower s3x or something I guess.

Bleezy said: a smart shower...? Wow.

Dumb as sh*t

SlapThatTaco82 said: If I see a vid of your sister getting her hair twisted up or ripped out I'm done.

Jigga What?

WardieMcFly said: Wow nothing but surveillance stuff. . Is a fricking hoverboard too much to ask for?

This...............

Synergy said: [pic - click to view]

I was thinking more like this kind

[pic - click to view]


[pic - click to view]

One I can ride during Mardi Gras

that water drone might be a cool idea.

BaldBear said: Nothing great about this year show... as always a hyper thin TV.. Until we see portable LARGE screens miss me with the "future of television"

I attended 3 out of the 4 days. And you're right... just same ol' sh*t. Big emphasis on VR gaming and autonomous vehicles (and every other company sh*tting on Tesla for that accident).

Mostly went to hang out with friends who get hired to work the booths.

Wish there was more companies that are working with USB-C compatible devices / external drives and iphone snap on camera (outside of Ollie). Lot of the heavyweight car brands didn't show up this year too. And those who did had a weak presentation booth.

Also for every cool booth there is like 20 booths from asia with knock off products.

vuser88 said: that water drone might be a cool idea.

This. With how big the drone community is getting..

[video - click to view]

I would absolutely love an underwater drone for my youtube show

Illuminati Bob said:

this is what i call doing the most

Illuminati Bob said:

This has been around since the late 90's. They just added the phone app. They took the hot tub technology and added it to the shower.