(This column originally appeared in Forbes)
Full disclosure: Instead of going to Vegas for the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show I opted to spend two weeks chilling out (literally) in beautiful Stockholm, Sweden and have absolutely no regrets. But Stockholm has the Internet (don’t forget it’s the home of Spotify) so I was able to keep up with my research. A special big shoutout to the team at The Verge whose daily recap of everything going on was fantastic. And there was a lot going on.
The Consumer Electronics Show is, of course, geared for consumers. And there were some amazing products introduced. Like robo-vacuums that suck up gallons of liquids, batteries that can power homes for days, mighty gaming laptops and gigantic gaming monitors, facial and palm recognition locks for your front door, fully transparent TV displays and even outdoor BBQ grills that are so smart they take the fun of out of grilling.
But what about technologies for businesses? CES had them too. Here are twelve that are worth checking out of if you own or operate a business of just about any size.
Visual Reality headsets are still just for fun and popular with gamers. But a growing number of businesses are using VR to do everything from provide training, analyze construction sites, walk through new homes and provide remote healthcare. Apple’s new headset – when actually launched this year – will provide a better quality and more immersive experience. It will also be a new opportunity for app developers. It won’t be cheap, but I bet it’ll be worth it.
Will employees at the weekly management meeting wear Apple Vision Pro headsets? I don’t think so. However, and at only 60 grams, these glasses a much lighter, less ridiculous-looking way to immerse yourself in a VR world and – gasp – maybe the Metaverse one day? Tentatively expected to launch in 3Q 2024, the glasses may be a giant step towards providing a way to be in a VR world without looking like a reject from the ’80’s band DEVO. We’ll see.
Nvidia and Getty Images have teamed up to provide an AI-leveraged way to create images from text using an inventory of non-copyrighted content. This looks like a great tool for businesses looking to re-vamp their websites, build out their marketing stock and enhance their overall branding without breaking any intellectual property rules.
Belkin Auto-Tracking Stand Pro for iPhone Tracking
It follows you everywhere and you don’t even have to make eye contact. This is an excellent tool for remote workers, in-office meetings and for creator/entrepreneurs to step up their online effectiveness.
Want to work in Windows? Check. Want to work in Android? Check. This device detaches and switches between the two – Windows for the laptop and Android for the tablet. Separate chips and all. This is a nice solution that can be shared by employees who prefer different operating systems, and further removes your company’s need to be dedicated to just one platform.
According to the chip-manufacturer, Chat with RTX – which will be available in early 2024 – “allows AI enthusiasts to easily connect PC Large Language Models to their own data using a popular technique known as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). The demo, accelerated by TensorRT-LLM, enables users to quickly interact with their notes, documents and other content. It will also be available as an open-source reference project, so developers can easily implement the same capabilities in their own applications.” Running AI on large language models can cause latency and privacy issues. Doing this on your own device or server can address those issues.
Swarovski Optik AX Visio Binoculars
First of all, these binoculars are about $5,000 to buy (when available later this year) so I’m doubting your typical bird enthusiast will be purchasing. But the potential is enormous, not only for people in the wildlife and animal science industries but for any business – contracting, construction, transportation, military – who in the near future need to leverage AI and use binoculars to immediately identify objects at a distance.
Could this one day be as big as the Apple App Store? It’s certainly possible. OpenAI has launched its own marketplace of apps using ChatGPT and other of its technologies that can be downloaded and used by both individuals and businesses. Already there are countless apps to help with productivity, image generation, training, research and programming. I am definitely going to take a deep dive into this site soon and find some good ones for businesses and of course this creates many opportunities for tech-minded entrepreneurs.
Asus ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH
According to the company it’s the world’s first foldable OLED portable monitor. According to The Verge’s Eric Born and Sean Hollister the monitor “promises to be lugged around without breaking your back or bag and it may do just that.” They also say that “when you fully flatten the screen, the crease really does seem to disappear, and it feels quite portable, even if we wouldn’t exactly describe its heft as featherlight.” For designers, engineers and others who need bigger and clearer screens while on the move, this is a move in the right direction.
With Walmart announcing that it’s drone delivery now covers as much as 75 percent of Texas there’s no question that drones are becoming a legitimate way to get supplies, products and other materials into the hands of recipients inexpensively and fast. The problem has been distance and power and drone manufacturer DJI has taken steps to overcome these challenges. It’s latest model – the The Flycart 30 – is “a beefcake of a drone” and can fly up to 10 miles with 66 pounds of cargo at a cost of $42,000. Freight is a significant expense for many businesses and I’m betting that drone solutions like DJI’s will help reduce these costs in the years to come.
Gatik Self Driving Trucks Plus Goodyear Smart Tires
Autonomous trucking – like the vehicles made by Gatik – is becoming more of a reality and could be an enormous cost saver for both trucking companies and their customers. So why not combine these vehicles with tires that are self-monitoring air pressure and other issues affecting their use. “The real time data derived from intelligent tire technology not only enhances the safety and predictability of our autonomous vehicles, but also enables us to maintain high levels of efficiency, reliability and delivery uptime throughout our operations,” said Gautam Narang, Gatik CEO and Co-founder.
Let’s agree that all of this stuff needs a fast internet. Well, it’s about to get faster. The Wi-Fi Alliance, a global network of all the companies that bring Wi-Fi to the world, announced that it has finally certified Wi-Fi 7, a significant upgrade. Many companies in the space like Airties, Boingo, Broadcom, RUCKUS Networks, Intel, MaxLinear, MediaTek, have been testing out the latest iteration of Wi-Fi which promises to provide “unprecedented capacity and spectrum efficiency to support far more connections and immersive applications” and will be “open-source, and hardware-agnostic so that ISPs can gain maximum flexibility and control over subscribers’ home broadband experience.” All of this means a faster and more flexible internet within the next 12-24 months.
