source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
Showing posts with label CES 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CES 2016. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2016
Samsung introduces 'smart clothing'
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Battle for digital life takes center stage at tech show
After smartphone wars, browser wars and platform wars, a fight is on to be the "hub" which connects the millions of connected objects from light bulbs to wearable to washing machines.
At the Consumer Electronics Show which concluded Saturday, the contenders included robots, televisions, speaker hubs and even wearable trackers powered by artificial intelligence. And the connected car raced into the mix.
Exhibitors ranging from startups to big consumer electronics giants are vying to be the control center for the vast array of Internet of things in your home, car, and elsewhere.
South Korea's LG unveiled its Smart ThinQ home hub, a speaker that lets a user communicate with and get alerts from connected appliances, security systems and even talk to cars.
This allows the smart home and connected car to communicate with each other. And it can connect with older appliances with attachable sensors.
LG calls this "the future of the smart home" and uses an open platform that can connect with devices using Google Nest, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and more.
Samsung announced its TVs will act as command centers in smart homes by incorporating technology from Silicon Valley start-up SmartThings, which Samsung bought in 2014, allowing them to control devices synced to the platform.
"You can have a smart home basically for free as a starting point; it is pretty amazing," SmartThings founder and chief Alexander Hawkinson told AFP.
Chinese electronics giant Haier unveiled its Ubot personal assistant robot -- a near-humanoid gadget which can control home appliances.
"He's like a personal assistant who can turn on your TV and all your appliances, and when you're not home he helps with surveillance," said Haier's Kristen Smith. "The ultimate goal is to simplify your life, to take care of the things you worry about."
Respond and entertain
Segway, which is owned by China's Ninebot, unveiled a personal transporter which morphs into a cute robotic personal assistant.
The robot, made in collaboration with Intel and China's Xiaomi, is open to developers which could add on applications for security, entertainment or other activities.
After riding it, the device sprouts arms and can navigate and interact with users with its sensors and artificial intelligence. It is expected to be commercialized later this year.
More whimsical, Chinese startup UBTech Robotics unveiled Alpha 2, a prototype personal assistant humanoid which can respond and entertain.
"You can talk to him and he will answer. He can give you the weather," said UBTech's Jessica Pan. "And he is very lifelike. He has 20 joints and can move like humans, he can dance and show you a yoga pose."
These new contenders face a tough battle against entrenched companies like Google and Apple -- not part of the floor exhibitors at CES -- which each have their own artificial intelligence assistants as well as ecosystems for connected homes and wearables.
And Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg said ahead of the show that he wants to build a robot butler "like Jarvis in 'Iron Man'" which can manage household tasks.
While Zuckerberg and Facebook were not exhibiting at CES, his comments and the innovations at the show underscore the progress being made in computing and artificial intelligence which can unleash new innovations.
Wearable Siri
Israeli-based startup OrCam, for example, unveiled a wearable artificial intelligence clip-on camera which "acts like a personal assistant like Siri or Cortana, but with eyes and ears," says OrCam marketing chief Eliav Rodman.
The device "can provide a real-time profile of people as they walk up to you during a conference, displaying their details on your smartphone or watch; it can track your eating habits," says OrCam co-founder Amnon Shashua.
"It can even monitor the facial expressions of people you meet and topics of discussion and let you know in hindsight the quality of interaction you have with friends and family."
Carmakers don't want to be left out either.
Ford, for example, unveiled an alliance at CES with US online giant Amazon aimed at allowing people to connect their cars into "smart home" networks.
The tie-up will enable drivers to communicate with the hub and, for example, ask if their garage door is open, or request an appointment with their mechanic.
Other carmakers including BMW and Volkswagen showed systems which connect not only to a smartphone but to home networks, enabling users to tap smart appliances or garage door openers, for example.
Wild West
These new systems offer new connecting options but could create confusion because of multiple technical standards.
"It almost forces you to get things within the same brand in order to match up," said Ron Montoya at the auto research firm Edmunds.com.
Roger Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates, agreed, saying that There is no grand architecture, so everyone is making a land grab. Everyone wants to be the hub."
Kay said that until players such as Apple, Google and Microsoft agree on open standards, "it going to be difficult for this market to move forward."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
8 takeaways from 2016 Consumer Electronics Show
1. Netflix stunned the show with the announcement that it added 130 new countries for its streaming TV service to bring its total to 190, calling it "the birth of a new global Internet TV network."
India will be one of the new markets for Netflix, which is still studying ways to get into China.
2. Google and Lenovo announced plans to produce the first consumer handset using the US computing giant's Project Tango 3D technology.
The device set to launch worldwide later this year aims for a new generation of smart devices that can be used for indoor mapping, augmented reality and more.
3. The 4K high-definition television format became the standard base for manufacturers, which showcased thinner and more spectacular displays for those willing to pay the price.
The Consumer Technology Association, the trade group behind CES, said one in every five televisions sold this year is expected to be 50 inches or more, measured diagonally, and feature ultra high-definition 4K resolution.
4. The Internet of Things showed spectacular growth from products like a smart mirror from Haier that delivers news and weather and connects to other appliances, and connected spoons and diet scales.
Samsung unveiled a smart refrigerator that lets its owner use a smartphone to virtually peer inside and see what should be on a shopping list.
5. Wearable technology probed deeper to get more data about health, while making inroads into the medical field: diagnosing conditions and even offering treatment for pain and other ailments. Shoes measured steps and shirts kept tabs on heart rates.
French-based health group VisioMed introduced its Bewell Connect "virtual checkup" through a smartphone app that communicates with its connected blood pressure and glucose monitor, thermometer and blood oxygen sensor.
6. Automakers moved to connect not only to the smartphone, but to the smart home and other parts of the digital life.
Ford teamed with Amazon to link up the carmaker's Sync vehicle hub with the online giant's smart home hub called Echo.
7. Virtual reality spread beyond video games to touch sex, sports, sales and space exploration. Facebook-owned Oculus began taking pre-orders for its eagerly-anticipated Rift VR headsets at a price of $599, and CES was rife with companies scrambling to field competing devices or content that could draw people into faux worlds.
8. Startups turned attention to ways to tap into the brain.
A "mind control" headband unveiled by startup BrainCo effectively hacks into brain signals with a range of possible applications -- from helping to improve attention spans, to detecting disease, controlling smart home appliances or even a prosthetic device.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
Friday, January 8, 2016
New wave in tech: hacking the brain
A new breed of neuro-hacker is finding ways to capture and manipulate brainwaves to improve health, with potential to help the severely handicapped.
A number of the innovations were on display at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where computer scientists and biomedical experts showcased ways to tap into and use brain signals.
The "mind control" headband unveiled by startup BrainCo effectively hacks into brain signals with a range of possible applications -- from helping to improve attention spans, to detecting disease, controlling smart home appliances or even a prosthetic device.
The device "translates your brainwaves into electronic signals," said the Boston-based firm's Zenchuan Lei.
At CES, BrainCo demonstrated how a person could use the headband to manipulate a prosthetic hand -- a potential life-changer for those paralyzed or missing limbs.
"These signals can be used to control objects like a prosthetic hand," Lei said. "You can turn the lights on or off just by focusing on that."
The device designed by scientists from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology employs "neuro feedback," a means of allowing people to control their brain waves for various purposes. It is expected to be sold later this year for less than $150.
Lei suggested the device could also help people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder because "it teaches you to enhance your focus and concentration."
A similar project on display from New York-based OpenBCI (which stands for open-source brain-computer interface) seeks to create a platform for applications of the technology in health care, education or other fields.
OpenBCI uses a 3D-printed helmet which captures brainwaves from various sectors of the brain.
- 'Neuro-marketing' potential -
"This can be used to help people with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease) or quadriplegics communicate," said OpenBCI chief executive Conor Russomanno.
The technology also offers a potential for so-called "neuro-marketing" which tests new products and services on the basis of sensory and cognitive response.
South Korean startup Looxid Labs unveiled a headset that tracks both brainwaves and eye movements, claiming this provides more accurate insights into the mind.
"No other device that I'm aware of combines these things," said Looxid chief business officer Alex Chang.
With the headset attached to a computer, "you can roll your eyes to scroll the mouse, and click on a button by blinking," Chang said.
The headset is being launched in July as a developer kit, with scope to build applications for controlling physical or virtual objects, communicating, analyzing a user's mood or mental health, or verifying their identity.
"We also see this as having potential in gaming because you can control things with your eye," Chang said.
"When you concentrate you can stop the bullets."
He added that for neuro-marketing applications, "we can show someone an ad and we can see where the eyes are focused. We can scan emotions and understand how someone is responding."
Other exhibitors at CES demonstrated wearable devices that block pain signals to the brain, as an alternative to medications with side effects for people who suffer from debilitating pain.
- Meditation aid -
The neuro-feedback technique is being applied as a meditation aid by Canadian-based Interaxon and its Muse headband.
Muse uses sensors on the forehead and behind the ears to measure brain signals, and advise users how to improve their meditation technique.
The coaching app helps people achieve a level of consistency in their meditation efforts.
"It's like going to the gym. The muscle doesn't get stronger unless you do it over and over again. It's the same with your brain," said Muse marketing manager Tracy Newsom-Rosenthal at the CES show.
One startup at CES was showcasing a technique to deliver pleasure signals to the brain via music, by triggering the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.
The hand-held device from Florida-based Nervana allows users to plug in a music player into the $299 device and get the pleasurable signals delivered by its headphones.
"We send a signal into the vagus nerve which produces dopamine, and that relaxes you," CEO Ami Brannon told AFP on the show floor.
"Some people describe the sensation as euphoric."
But Brannon said the technique "is not really hacking the brain."
"We access the central nervous system and it just tickles the nerve to remind the brain to release dopamine," she said.
"People who practice yoga or meditation can already do this."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
Thursday, January 7, 2016
CES 2016 features latest health, fitness gadgets
The gathering has been flocked by a multitude of wellness gadgets from sensor devices to sleep monitors and to beauty masks, all promising a treat-yourself-at-home wellness strategy.
-ANC's Dateline Philippines, January 7, 2016
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
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