News

CES 2017 Tuesday: CES Unveiled’s Smart Home, Wearable Tech, Focus

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2017

CES Unveiled is the Consumer Technology Association’s annual (CES 2017) press preview event, where many vendors (some representing startups, and other from established firms) present products so new they have not hit the market, and will not until the middle of this year. Because of that, CES Unveiled is a kind of real, live look at the short term consumer tech future. And by all indications, that focuses on something called ‘The Smart Home” as well as “Wearable Tech” (Zennie Abraham’s Zennie62 coverage sponsored by The Oakland Post and Sigma Technologies Global.)

&amp;amp;nbsp;

Ok, we have to meet the wacky wacked CES Robat…

First, I define “The Smart Home” not as “a home or building, usually a new one, that is equipped with special structured wiring to enable occupants to remotely control or program an array of automated home electronic devices by entering a single command.” But a home that has electronically-controlled devices that can be enabled without touch. CES Unveiled was replete with such products, like Maximus Smartphone Connected Lighting For The Home #CES2017.

The light that Maximus’ Mark Honeycutt introduced is perfectly designed for homes in any place where home invasions are a problem. Say someone drives up to your garage door, but you can’t see them because of the layout of your home. The Maximus Smartphone Connected Light not only comes on when the person drives up, but turns on a built-in video camera and simultaneously calls your smartphone to alert you that someone has arrived, and shows you the video! This is a must have, especially in towns like Fayetteville, Georgia, where the elderly are rightfully fearful of unwanted visitors.

The Maximus smart light was joined at CES Unveiled by the Lutron Caseta Smart Lighting For The Home. This is “completely connectable to any mobile device” and allows one to connect, for example, lights at home so that they can be turned on and off with a smartphone.

And still yet another Smart Home product was presented by Sengled and its Sengled Smart Lighting Company offerings at CES. The one presented in the vlog below is a blub that pipes music from your smartphone to a room via speakers and electronics built right into the blub itself. Not kidding.

Smart Home apps were matched in number by Wearable Tech products. The weirdest offering at CES Unveiled’s one I elected to not video or photo – a pair of shorts specially designed to “hold up” a man’s privates. As I walked into the ballroom at Mandalay Bay Hotel where CES Unveiled was being staged, there was some white guy modeling the shorts to what happened to be a small group of women standing near the entrance. I kept walking; my lady friend Nina told me about it later.

Much more tolerable was the Elancyl Anti-Cellulite app from France. The makers used a computer mouse design as the basis for something that is to be rolled over the areas on a body that have cellulite, while its rotors grab and lift the unwanted skin. Sensors built in to the mouse feed data to an output page containing charts and graphs of progress in the woman’s fight against cellulite.

Another neat wearable tech device was modeled by Miss Deaf Tennessee for Oitcon. It’s an internet-connected hearing aide that is barely visible to the eye. An Amazing product.

Then there were products that were not Smart Home or Wearable Tech, like the Klaxoon Presentation Training App. This product from the European Union was featured at Zennie62 on YouTube in 2016 when it had 15 employees – now it has over 100 in less than a year! Klaxon “is a collection of great ideas that facilitate interactivity within a group. Based on your content, you can propose simple, playful and effective activities: quizzes, surveys, challenges, brainstorming activities, live messaging, and other ways to engage students in training.

And then there’s the near-micro-devices of MOCACare, featuring MOCAHeart. MOCAHeart was the focus of a successful kickstarter campaign in 2014. It was was made by a group managed by Naama Stauber and Dr.Daniel Hong, formerly a doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital.

And we have the Immotor Electric Scooter Portable At CES 2017. This is something that would make Tony Stark proud!

Overall, CES Unveiled was, once again, a great window into the near-future of tech. Stay tuned for more from Zennie62 on YouTube and here at The Oakland Post.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Stephen Ross, NFL Miami Dolphins Owner, Owns Land Next To Oakland Raiders Coliseum Stadium

Don't Miss

Steph Curry Sneakers Raise Funds for Oakland Fire Victims

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

18 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.