Aircharge's CES2020 Tech Take Aways

CES 2020, the show that boasts 11 official venues, spans more than 2.9 million net square feet of exhibit space. Naturally, thousands of new products shout for your attention and with only a 4-day schedule, it can be easy to miss some key takeaways from the show. So, as technology continues to take more of a pivotal role in our daily lives, here are 5 trends that shouldn’t be missed.

Up until now our daily interaction with the physical and digital world has been totally separate and the application of mixed reality has not had a clear use, or at least it may seem that way. Remember the record-breaking game Pokémon Go released in 2016? This is a perfect example of how Mixed Reality, the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce a completely new environment and visualization has already been applied.

It is now clear that mixed reality is not just reserved for the gaming industry and how the enterprise application of mixed reality is becoming more obvious. Through implementing the technology into processes such as training, the trainee can experience a situation firsthand in a simulated environment making  complex learning easier and benefiting from the advantages of on the job training but without putting company assets at risk.

One innovation that was presented at CES was the Samsung AR glasses, a prototype that aims to assist the user through a virtual exercise routine, all led by a virtual motivational personal trainer. The glasses are just a concept product but a great representation as to where the technology could lead us in the world of exercise moving forward.

Arguably one of the largest trends of CES2020 was autonomous vehicle, the idea that a vehicle can guide itself without human interaction. With over 190 exhibitors within the category and level 1 and 2 cars already on the road that offer driver assistance, level 5 (completely self-driving) vehicles are a fast-approaching concept that is becoming ever more real.

American multinational Qualcomm is determined to see this happen sooner rather than later with the unveiling of its new autonomous driving platform snapdragon ride. It aims to assist all self-driving vehicles moving forward by taking a holistic approach to building autonomous services through the combination of software, hardware, open stacks, tools, development kits and a partner ecosystem. Providing that the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride Platform is adopted by car manufacturers Qualcomm claims to put a Snapdragon behind the wheel of a car by 2023.

A key theme featured throughout CES2020 included artificial intelligence (AI), a subject that has sparked a lot of controversy throughout history with movies such as I, robot and ex Machina expressing peoples concerns. However, there are still many of us who see the huge potential and are embracing AI.

One of our favourite examples from the show was BrainCo who have built a prosthetic arm with the capability to learn, BrainCo’s AI prosthetic hand collaborates with an amputee’s brain wave and muscle signals to comprehend the movement they want to make. Through a software platform, the user can train the prosthetic using electrical signals, even enabling them to play the piano. The prosthetic hand is still awaiting FDA approval but BrainCo plans to have it on the market by the end of the year.

With Faster upload and download speeds as well as lower latency 5G is set to change the way we interact with technology as well as challenging internet service providers. 2020 has a huge expectation for 5G with it being labelled “the long-awaited year”. One of the many reasons it was exciting to be a part of CES2020 was to see all the much-anticipated technology that will hugely benefit from utilising 5G and this isn’t just mobile devices. Everything that has been discussed in this article and more will benefit from the rollout of 5G. To give an idea of how powerful this new cellular technology is, downloading an
HD movie over 5G opposed to 4G will save you 41 minutes. With 5G being 85% faster then the previous generation it is clear to see why this will benefit Mixed reality, Autonomous Vehicle, Artificial intelligence and the IoT infrastructure.

5G and The Internet of Things (IoT) are set to make a great collaboration. IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, in broad terms it could be described as everything that is connected to the internet. However, it is not all that simple, adding a bit more depth to the subject IoT devices also communicate with one another. Once all of these IoT devices have access to the next generation 5G it will open up a world of capabilities.

Our solutions are IoT connected, and one of the many reasons as to why we are so excited to see all of this technology come together to create a holistic view. Offering charging facilities, customer authentication, push notifications, mobile ordering, table service, real-time monitoring & diagnostics are a few examples that will benefit from the introduction of 5G.

The trends and technology that have featured throughout this article will assist Aircharge in achieving its vision to create a connected world-wide wireless charging network. Much like the mixed reality that has been previously discussed our solution bridges digital engagement and the users' physical interaction with the product, creating a better overall user experience as well as creating new and exciting opportunities for interaction and engagement.

 As a company that has had the pleasure to be a part of CES for the past 4 years and to witness how much technology has changed in such a short period it is unimaginable how much the technology featured in this article will propel our vision.