By Josh Seidemann, VP of Policy, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association
My annual reports from CES each year include a photo album of technology or other interesting things I saw in Las Vegas. “Technology” and “other interesting things” generally present themselves without fail.
Spydro offers a fishing camera. The key is its buoyancy, which enables to sink without disturbing the lure. The camera provides sharp images back up to the fisherman.
Welt is a belt. A smart belt that won a CES “Best of 2019” award. It promotes fall prevention by analyzing the user’s gait and calculating a fall risk assessment. It also monitors changes in activity and waist size.
Perhaps more than any other product offered, Copilot demonstrated the role of data collection in many different devices. The firm manages data collected from IoT devices. Copilot does not develop, sell or market devices, but rather works with IoT vendors to provide secure, cloud-based analytics. For example, ACME might sell a connected refrigerator. Copilot collects and observes data and can provide alerts when maintenance or repairs are necessary.
Or, Copilot can determine when a customer has not set-up the device properly and intervene to help troubleshoot. This type of early-intervention is anticipated to improve product ratings and reduce returns or churn. Each company’s data is housed on a separate and secure system; the company affirms its compliance with GDPR (European privacy standards) and CCPA (comprehensive and recently-effective California privacy regulations).
It’s not Star Wars. It is a platform by DeepRoute that transforms any ordinary car into an autonomous vehicle. Here it is atop a Ford Fusion (please, no jokes about “what could be more ordinary than . . .”).
Other points of interest:
- Monitors need not be frightening; they can be reassuring, too. Voxx is working to create systems that prevent people from leaving children unattended in cars.
- It’s not broadband-enabled, but it was a pretty crowded booth. From Keurig, a mechanical mixologist.
- The Bzigo uses AI to identify mosquitoes and mark their location. I was hoping it would send a drone to kill them, but it leaves the bug-swatting to people.
Stay tuned for next week’s wrap-up and impressions.
