by Dot Cannon

“Wow” tends to be an understatement, when we’re talking about 2015 International CES®.

Tuesday was Day 1 of CES®.  But there was no shortage of creativity and innovation, even before the show officially opened.

This robot is one inch tall.

It’s also an International CES® award-winning “Best Robot”, designed to teach the basics of computer programming through color coding.

Called Ozobot, it was just one of many innovations drawing a lot of interest at the 2015 International CES® preview event, “Unveiled”, on Sunday.

Reporters also clustered around to see this wearable device.

 

It can: play a song, take a picture or control household devices.

Exhibitor Mimoco Matsuzaki said gestures could also be customized and the device, called Ring, could be set up to do new tasks, such as opening a garage door!

And, these wearables…

…called MyBrain, are both a way of measuring and reducing stress levels, through music specifically composed for this particular technology!

During Monday’s press events, global innovation was very much a part of the discussion.

At Panasonic’s press conference, Panasonic Eco Solutions North President Jim Doyle talked about the sustainable smart town of Fujisawa, which Panasonic opened in November of 2014.  He told the audience that the sustainable lifestyles of the community include reducing water consumption by thirty per cent, and lowering CO2 emissions by seventy per cent!

Tuesday’s opening CES® keynote had a similar focus on the world community.

Ford President and CEO Mark Fields, during his address, announced twenty-five global “smart mobility” experiments.   Among them: a remote-driving experiment at Atlanta’s Georgia Tech, using low-speed golf carts; a car-sharing experiment in Bangalore, India; and a fleet of pickup trucks and SUVs in West Africa, to map road networks and create more viable driver routes.

Following the keynote, it was time to explore the convention floors.  According to Gary Shapiro, there are 2.2 million net square feet of exhibit space at this year’s CES®–as well as three different venues.

A few of our favorite “finds” so far:

Yes–these drums, the guitar and the keyboard cover were created with a 3-D printer!

And they sounded really good.

This Budgee™ robot is designed to follow you and carry your things!

And this beauty mirror, by Panasonic, is a lot of fun.  It’s designed for beauty parlors and department stores, at this point, though a consumer version may be coming in the future.  It offers a virtual look at how certain types of makeup look on a given subject, in different types of lighting.  It also gives skin-care information and shows how a subject–male or female–might look with bangs, different eyebrows or a mustache.

Day One of CES® ended on a high note–possibly, even, a soaring one.

These Firefly drones were one of the highlights of Intel Corporation CEO Brian Krzanich’s afternoon keynote address.

Brian explained, and had his team demonstrate, that the drones’ sensors guide them away from obstacles–and people–on their route.  As a “grand finale” to this part of the presentation, the Intel team set up an “obstacle course” for the drones to navigate, on their way offstage.  They avoided every obstacle–and weren’t “fooled” by the closed doors the team left at the end of the course.  The drones hovered in mid-air until the doors opened, then proceeded to their destination.

All this, by just the end of Day One of CES®?  We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Day Two.