COVER CES 2021
check a user’s health by using sensors
to scan, what was delicately described,
as a person’s ‘key outputs’. According
to a company spokesman, “A wealth
of wellness data can be collected from
faecal matter.” Not only that, readings
can also be taken from a user’s skin,
when they come into contact with the
seat.
An internet-connected version of
the appliance is expected, “in the next
several years”.
Seriously, this type of technology
could have a crucial role to play in the
workplace monitoring for signs of Covid-
19 and detecting possible outbreaks.
Robotics
CES 2021 saw robots also having an
important role in automating processes
tied to Covid, such as maintaining
social distancing, and serving as home
companions and personal assistants.
The Bot Handy ‘robot butler’ from
Samsung garnered a lot of interest.
It demonstrated its ability to empty
a dishwasher, pick up around the
house, pour a glass of wine, as well
as independently raise and lower itself
based on the height of the items it
needed to pick up.
Samsung also unveiled a robot
vacuum with a built-in security camera
(the JetBot 90 AI +) and the Bot Care
robot, which has been designed to
act as a personal assistant. It has
a tablet-like display for calls and
communication and is able to learn
from your behaviour.
Likewise, South Korea’s Hancom
Toki H2 is a companion robot which
can serve as a personal assistant.
The home robot allows for customised
conversations between family
members and users, and has been
designed to actively engage in daily life
based on facial recognition technology
and educational content.
In addition, several exhibitors
presented robots intended to directly
combat the virus.
LG, for example, is developing an
autonomous robot that uses UV-C
light to disinfect and is intended to
be used in hospitality, retail, and
business locations, providing a device
that can effectively sanitize during the
pandemic.
“This autonomous UV robot
comes at a time when hygiene is of
the highest priority for hotel guests,
students, and restaurant customers,”
said vice president Roh Kyu-chan, head
of the robot business division in LG’s
Business Solutions Company.
The robot is able to irradiate
touchable surfaces in 15 to 30
minutes, and can disinfect multiple
surfaces on a single charge. LG’s UV
robot will be available in early 2021.
As well as disinfecting rooms using
UV lights robots are increasingly being
used in hospitals to take patients’
temperatures and vital signs as they
are admitted.
It does appear that people are
now paying more attention to their
personal health and wellness as well
as to the environment at home and in
the workplace. As a result, it’s likely
that over the coming year more robots
will be seen serving in new roles at
schools, hospitals, offices, gyms, and
on public transportation.
Technology round-up
In terms of consumer goods, the two
fastest growing categories in 2021
are expected to be wireless earbuds
and gaming consoles – the former is
expected to be aided by the increase in
video and audio conferencing.
Gaming consoles have benefitted
from more people seeking
entertainment at home and by the
introduction of new gaming systems by
Sony and Microsoft in late 2020.
For the past year many more
people have been working out of home
offices.That is a trend that’s not going
to go away, and as a result some of
the biggest innovations in 2021 are
going to be in AI, and the greater use
of voice assistants such as Alexa.
According to some analysts demand
for smart wearables, which provide a
direct link to voice assistant providers
without having to access your phone,
will see very strong growth.
The impact of people staying at
home more in 2020 has been reflected
in the strong growth of software and
streaming services.
Video gaming software and services
remain the largest market segments
but after the growth seen in 2020,
video streaming is now a much more
important market segment.
TVs at this year’s show continued
to get larger and larger, in many cases
exceeding the available wall space in
many homes. One notable example
being Samsung’s MicroLED 110 inch
television which can display up to
four separate screens at once – at its
launch in South Korea the cost was
put at $150,000, so it’s unlikely to be
a big seller.
Lenovo introduced its ThinkPad X1
Fold, which it says is the world’s first
foldable PC. With a 13.3 inch OLED
display it folds to half that size and the
display can be shown on one screen or
two. It has an on-screen keyboard and
an optional external keyboard.
Many top auto manufacturers
did not participate in this year’s
show, but both EV and autonomous
vehicles remained hot topics,
alongside technologies such as
cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X)
and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS)
many of which will be driven by the
advancement in 5G.
While this year’s CES may have
missed some notable names the
companies that did participate were
able to showcase many new and
innovative products.
Above: Robots were
seen as having an
important role in
automating processes
12 9 February 2021 www.newelectronics.co.uk
/www.newelectronics.co.uk