CES 2023
January 14, 2023 10:10am
Today's radio program was about CES 2023. This technology trade show in Las Vegas, which was formerly known as the "Consumer Electronics Show," changed to just "CES" in 2016. With more than 100,000 attendees and technology innovations displayed by nearly 3000 companies from around the globe, CES is the largest technology trade show in the world.
I was quite busy at CES covering various new technologies and product releases. Sony announced their new "Afeelo" electric car (a joint venture with Honda). The vehicle will feature more than three dozen sensors, including cameras, radar, ultrasonic, and lidar to permit autonomous operation. It will be manufactured in the United States and will be available for sale in 2026.
BMW hosted a massive party where they revealed "Dee," their big foray into an AI immersive electric transportation experience. "DEE" stands for Digital Emotional Experience." But Dee did something truly amazing; she changed colors! And I don't mean the paint reflected light differently at each angle. That's been around for a while. Dee actually changed colors via her "E-Ink" technology that literally changes the colors and patterns of the car itself. It was amazing. Dee was touted as one of the three most human cars ever (the other two were "Herbie the Love Bug" and "KITT" from David Hasselhoff's Knight Rider TV show). Arnold Schwarzenegger participated in the BMW reveal.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) announced and demonstrated their new Ryzen 9 7950X3D microprocessor. It boasts 16-Core, 32-Thread, 5.7GHz Boost, 144 MB Cache with 120W TOP. I don't really know what that means, but at least half of the 3000 techies at the reveal had orgasms over it, so it must be something spectacular.
I interviewed Paula Abdul about her new line of fashion audio glasses that pretty much do what Apple AirPods do. But hers are functioning eyeglasses instead of weird devices dangling from the ears. You can see her "Idol Eyes" glasses at www.PaulaAbdul.com/products/straight-ups-glasses.
Since Paula Abdul was a judge on American Idol from 2002 - 2009, when she and I finished discussing her glasses, I asked her to judge my singing. Yes, I know I can't sing. And although I did try the best I could, I was awful. In her critique, she said I was "awesome and bad at the same time." Oh, well. No Golden Ticket to Hollywood for me! Our interview, including my so-called "singing," aired on The Mike Bates Show today (segment 4).
At events like CES, it is not unusual to run into celebrities who are endorsing products. So as I was walking past the KULR booth, I saw motorsports legend Mario Andretti (champion of races in Formula 1, Indy, and NASCAR) signing autographs. So I stopped and asked if I could get a quick interview. He obliged. That brief interview aired today also (segment 4).
CES 2023 exhibited very interesting products such as healthcare wearables, gaming devices (and I don't mean slot machines), high tech agricultural tools, and more applications for Artificial Intelligence, among other technologies.
We don't yet know all the capabilities of AI. But it is clear that AI will change the world. It will be as transformative to our lives as the semiconductor was. AI and its applications in robotics will change literally everything. Transportation, healthcare, agriculture, entertainment, dining, manufacturing, marketing, exploration, politics, and military actions; AI will change it all.
Several countries had pavilions at CES with their entrepreneurs showing their products. I visited the pavilions for Italy, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and France. After the media luncheon with the French delegation, I interviewed two of their entrepreneurs. One had a high tech mosquito-killing device, and the other had an airbag belt intended for use by people at risk of hip fractures from falls. For most elderly people, a hip fracture will lead to death within a year. This belt detects a fall and deploys an airbag to protect the hip (or both hips depending on whether one or both are about to hit the ground).
Caterpillar (the company that makes industrial machinery like dozers, graders, and excavators) had a large exhibit featuring a 100 ton hauling truck that runs autonomously. I had the opportunity to sit at the controls of one of their excavators being displayed inside the convention center. I fired her up and manipulated her controls. And my action dug a giant hole. But I didn't damage the floor of the convention center because the hole I dug was 1678 miles from Las Vegas. Yep! From my seat in Las Vegas, I dug a hole in Peoria, Illinois. Quite amazing, huh? Details about that technology are included in my interview with the Caterpillar representative that aired today (segment 3).
Vinfast is an automotive company in Vietnam that is moving into the U.S. market with their line of electric vehicles. After attending the press conference by Vinfast's CEO, I went out to their test track and drove one of their cars. It seemed like a high quality automobile. And because it is priced below Teslas and the EVs of most domestic brands, it will likely become quite popular in the States.
Throughout the day, a robot served up coffee. And it wasn't just pouring a black cup of Joe. It was doing all kinds of mixing and pouring. If the employees at Starbucks keep going on strike, that robot may soon be serving at a cafe near you. And frankly, even without striking employees, the day is coming that robots will prepare our food. I should add that the coffee prepared by the robot was then delivered to the customer by another robot.
Another robotic exhibit featured an electric lawn service robot that mows the lawn, blows away leaves, and clears snow. I spent some time at the toilet too. But this toilet was on the exhibit floor. It is a smart toilet that takes a plethora of health readings based solely on contactless analysis of a person's urine stream. Also on exhibit at CES was a prototype of the 66,000 electric vehicles the U.S. Postal Service will soon be purchasing.
There wasn't time on today's show to air all the product interviews I did at CES. But those that did air can be heard on the podcast at www.TheMikeBatesShow.com/podcasts/230114