For many companies trying to cut through the clutter, CES is as much about showcasing developing technologies than highlighting ones in use today.
Some applications may debut this year while others are years down the road from implementation, let alone adoption.
OC sent more than 100 companies to CES, which set a record this month with more than 180,000 attendees and 4,500 exhibitors.
Here’s a review of some of the more forward-looking concepts the Business Journal came across from OC’s cadre of exhibitors at CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, held Jan. 8 to 11 in Las Vegas:
Headset Head Start
• Santa Ana-based Audeze LLC, a maker of headphones and other audio-related products launched in 2008 by Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alex Rosson, demoed a headset that allows users to activate custom PC controls with a head nod or shake.
The idea behind it was purely fun, with gaming the most obvious potential application, particularly for boxing, soccer, racing or first-person shooter titles.
The technology, though, has more serious applications: it could also hold promise for those with disabilities.
“We can map your head movement to keyboard commands,” Thiagasamudram told the Business Journal at a private meeting in a suite at the Mirage. “We just need to send this out in beta and get some feedback because this is totally new.”
The company’s plans aren’t too far from being realized: it aims to debut the Head Gesture Keybinds technology in the coming months.
Audeze products, which range from $400 to $4,000, are used by some of the most prolific music engineers in the recording business, as well as hi-fidelity audio enthusiasts.
Token Marketing
• Santa Ana-based Universal Electronics Inc., the world’s largest universal control maker with 2017 sales of $695 million, debuted a developing technology called TOKN, which links consumers directly to service providers.
The technology uses tokens equipped with QR code scanners that can be swiped over a hub to initiate interactions with a brand.
In a demo on the showroom floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center, UEI had branded Uber, Pizza Hut and Netflix tokens that took users to dedicated landing pages, where they could purchase ride shares, food, music and movies through a voice-activated smart TV.
“This is what we envision for one part of the room,” Senior Industrial Designer Cesar Alvarado said during the demonstration.
The technology, paired with Universal’s proprietary, voice-activated Nevo Butler assistant—a smart home hub akin to Amazon’s Alexa—is a way to provide more sales opportunities for businesses, a big theme at CES this year amid the ongoing evolution of the connected home.
Driving Blues
• Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine helped its South Korean parent, Kia Motors Corp., tease its Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving concept.
The system, developed with researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, uses artificial intelligence to monitor a passenger’s emotional state to optimize the riding experience.
The technology detects stress levels via “bio-signal recognition” through reading facial expressions and monitoring heart rate and electrodermal activity.
Using these markers, the system can create a more relaxing environment through lighting and sounds.
Consider the application an extension of the evolving autonomous vehicle and shifting passenger experience.
Robo Mobiles
• In an effort to improve response time in emergencies and natural disasters, Hyundai Motor Co., parent of Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America, showcased the first “ultimate mobility vehicle,” called the Elevate concept, which fuses electric car and robot technology to navigate the most difficult terrains.
The Transformer-like product, developed with Detroit design studio Sundberg-Ferar, features moveable legs that allow the vehicle to navigate in any direction, as well as climb a 5-foot wall and step over a 5-foot gap, all with the ability to drive at freeway speeds. A time frame for the early-stage product coming to market was undisclosed.
