CES 2019, or the Consumer Electronics Show was held in Las Vegas from January 8 to 11. This year again, there was no shortage of ICT innovations. Voice assistants, smart homes and foldable smartphones, a look back at the innovations that have made a strong impression over the last three days.
150 countries gathered on 250 000 m² of floor space
The Consumer Electronics Show is an annual global trade show with 4,500 exhibitors. Manufacturers, developers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers of solutions and innovations in the field of new technologies come together. For several years now, it has been the most important exhibition dedicated to technological innovation in consumer electronics, welcoming no less than 150 countries on an area of approximately 250,000 m². Moreover, this convention is also a real showcase for young entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Foldable smartphone to be shown at CES 2019
Royole, a Chinese company, used CES 2019 to offer its foldable smartphone. Called Flexpai, the phone has a 7.8-inch (1920×1440 pixels) foldable Amoled display made of soft plastic. Running on Android 9.0, this smartphone is equipped with the Dual Sim option. Nevertheless, when folded in half, the phone becomes rather thick, which slightly spoils the grip. An octuple-core 2.8GHz Snapdragon SoC, expandable memory and a 3,800mAh battery make it a pretty cool device, though.
Google Assistant in 1 billion devices
900 million more than Amazon’s claim, at least that’s what the giant Google wants. As the competition between its ” Assistant ” and ” Alexa ” gets tougher and tougher, Google continues to think big. In fact, its stand, with its 5,486 m² of floor space, was already showing its colours. On the other hand, Google Assistant may well be an integral part of Samsung TVs coming out in 2019. This collaboration would be in addition to the one with LG and its XBOOM AI ThinQ WK9 smart display.
Immersive toilets and intelligent video doorbells
The smart home was also one of the big themes at the heart of CES 2019. Netatmo, recently acquired by Legrand, presented its intelligent video doorbell. Thanks to the latter, you no longer need to be at home to know who is ringing at your door. Indeed, this technology allows you to receive a video call directly on your smartphone. It is also possible to talk to the person behind the door. But the little extra of this smart doorbell is that it also acts as a security agent by detecting people lurking around the house. In terms of unusual innovation, CES 2019 was treated to the Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet, equipped with the Alexa personal assistant. Adjusting the temperature of the toilet seat is just one example of what this technology can do. Indeed, an interconnected system, allows to have an automated synchronized lighting imitating nature, in order to create various atmospheres to improve the well-being.
Security protocols dedicated to connected objects
New technologies also mean security. And with this in mind, Acklio, a French company, presented its solutions dedicated to the security of connected objects. Their work is becoming a global standard for securing theInternet of Things. In general, Acklio’s software offers an overlay between the different networks. This makes them compatible with the IP protocol, which is already used to exchange information between devices on the “classic” Internet.
Virtual and augmented reality
Another must-see at CES 2019, virtual reality is still captivating audiences. For example, the Teslasuit, a Smart suit for gaming, is equipped with haptic feedback. This allows you to physically feel the game, capture the player’s movement and vary the temperature. More discreet, the Bose augmented audio glasses look like simple sunglasses. However, they provide audio information about the objects the person is looking at: for example, a restaurant, a monument, etc. Of course, these are just a few examples of the various technologies on display at CES 2019. Attendees were also treated to robot demonstrations, information on digital health, and an overdose of pixels with 8k, among other things.
