CES 2018: Takeaways from Media Day 1

1) “Living in Digital Times” Will Combine Hyperpersonalization, Predictive Analytics, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Software as Drugs, and Cognitive Healthcare and Pain Management

We heard about five trends that characterize living in digital times.

1. Medicine will be hyperpersonalized, and gene sequencing will be used to create personalized medicines. AI and machine learning will magnify the power of medicine, and there will be huge growth in telemedicine, with diseases diagnosed and treated remotely.
2. Predictive analytics will integrate AI and sensors to provide enormous assistance to doctors and nurses in hospitals.
3. Patient-centered healthcare will simplify the process for consumers, and technology such as personal digital assistants will be able to assist us, for example by reminding patients to take their medicine.
4. Software can take the place of drugs in digital therapeutics.
5. In cognitive health and pain management, wearable devices can replace opioids in helping patients deal with pain.

2) Byton Unveiled a Prototype of an Autonomous, Electric Car Focused on the In-Car Experience

Automotive startup Byton introduced a near-production version of its upcoming electric SUV, which will be manufactured in China. The car, with a price tag of approximately $45,000, lacks door handles and mirrors, but includes an informational lighting system giving information on fuel level and other metrics. The car also includes facial-recognition cameras to unlock the car. The vehicle’s design also takes passenger entertainment into account.

3) 5G Connectivity Is Coming Soon and Will Enable Many New Applications in Telecommunications, Industrial, Automotive and Healthcare

5G is 50 times faster than the current 4G. Whereas it would take 26 hours to download the recent two-hour film Guardians of the Galaxy on a 3G network, and six minutes on today’s 4G network, downloading the same movie would take 3.6 seconds on a 5G network. Short-term development will be completed this year, with longer-term development extending through 2020.

4) AI Will Enable Us to Create Systems that Can Learn to Do Things that We Cannot Program Them to Do, Having a Great Societal Impact

Tools include deep/machine learning, neural networks and narrow versus general AI. AI will help us create systems to do things we do not want to do, cannot do and need extra help to do. AI is not just for IT-related tasks; rather, it is used in other applications such as security, tech support and gauging internal compliance. There are tangible benefits for retail, including cost savings, increased productivity and increased revenue. Future areas include conversation with context and building trust by getting to know the user’s preferences.

5) Robots Are Evolving Beyond Simple Task-Based Machines

Robots have advanced beyond task-based robots such as the Honda Asimo robot introduced several years ago at CES. Current-generation robots such as Kuri can capture important family moments on video and upcoming generations are interactive and feature mobility.

6) AR and VR Are Changing Our Definition of Realism and Are Crossing Over Between Business and Consumer

AR and VR are changing our definition of realism as they improve. Interestingly, VR achieved initial success in business-to-consumer (B2C) and crossed over into business-to-business (B2B), whereas AR gained initial success in B2B and has crossed over into B2C. The VR space is expanding, even into social media. Once derided, Google Glass has found real cost-saving applications in medicine, industry and manufacturing. Sports are another attractive application for VR.

7) The US Consumer Electronics Industry Is Experiencing Solid Growth in the Number of Connected Devices, and in Hardware, Software and Streaming Services

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) estimates that 715 million connected consumer devices will be sold in the US in 2018, a 6.6% increase over the previous year.

The CTA further estimates that sales of retail hardware, software and streaming services in the US will reach $351 billion in 2018, a 3.9% increase over 2017.