©Mark Ollig
This year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas focused on some promising technologies we heard a lot about in 2018.
CES is considered the “global hub for innovation,” showcasing high-tech industries’ most extraordinary product and service innovations.
This year’s CES exhibitors showcased 20,000 technology wares over more than 2.9 million net square feet of exhibit floor space.
From global brands to visionary startups, these companies promote a universal message to the world: The promise of technology.
People from more than 155 countries, along with some 6,500 media folks, were in attendance at CES.
CES reported more than 180,000 people attended the five-day event.
Attention centered around 5G (Fifth Generation mobile/wireless systems), smartphones, and 5G capabilities embedded within electronic devices, especially IoT (Internet of Things).
Excitement about the rollout of 5G networks is justifiable, because they will handle data speeds of up to 100 Gbps, or 1,000 times the capacity of current 4G networking technology.
If we use half of 5G’s potential; 500 Mbps, an 8.5GB DVD movie will take just 2.26 minutes to download, and a Blu-ray disc with 128GB of data would take 34.13 minutes.
At 1Gbps downloading speed, an 8.5GB DVD takes 68 seconds, and a 128GB Blu-ray disc 17 minutes to download.
I used the Google Calculator to find out how long various-sized movie downloads or file transfers would take.
Here is what I put into Google for the 8.5GB DVD download at 500 Mbps: (8.5 gigabytes) / (500 Mbps).
Say you have 50Mbps internet service and you want to download an 8.5GB DVD HQ movie. Here is what you type into Google: (8.5 gigabytes) / (50 Mbps). The reply from Google states the download time will be 22.6666667 minutes.
For fun, I used Google to calculate how long it would take to download 8.5GB using a 1Tbps (terabit per second) connection. The answer is 68 milliseconds.
I now digress back to CES.
During CES, 11 leading car manufacturers highlighted the future of transportation, from the Bell Helicopter’s air taxi to Harley-Davison’s electric motorcycle.
Along with 5G, AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology will provide nearly instantaneous decision-making within self-driving automobiles, thus enabling greater safety for passengers and others traveling the highways, quicker commutes to the office, and increased productivity.
“Once put into action, self-driving vehicles have a chance to eliminate the 94 percent of car accidents caused by human error, making our roads much safer,” said Waymo CEO John Krafcik, who is also the former president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.
IBM chairman, president, and CEO, Ginni Rometty gave a keynote address and talked about how AI will prove data is the “world’s greatest natural resource.”
She feels AI will empower advances from smart cities to significant improvements in transportation technologies, robotics, and healthcare advancements.
“Every business must now embrace technology to succeed,” said Karen Chupka, executive vice president, CES.
AI technology will be used to improve US Cybersecurity and individual citizen’s security on the internet.
CES moderated a conference session consisting of executives from well-known and influential tech companies to discuss 5G. They explored how 5G will impact our lives, and agreed ancillary technology, such as self-driving cars and virtual reality, will be greatly enhanced.
5G promises to transform areas of our lives; such as in the devices we speak to, digital health, education, business, smart cities, smart homes, smart apartments, smart factories, and more.
“5G will change everything – 5G is the promise of so much more than what we have seen from wireless technology,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon CEO, during his CES keynote address.
“This network [5G], really simply stated, is not just faster and more efficient – which we’ve grown to appreciate – it’s a real-time network. So, it’s a game-changer,” said AT&T CEO John Donovan.
CE Pro magazine moderated a session discussing “Technology Deployment in the Home.”
This discussion examined not just “how” products are making their way into people’s homes, but “who” is installing them.
New service companies are employing technicians who are highly skilled in leading-edge products, devices, and supporting technology. These companies utilize advanced diagnostic tools for designing, installing, analyzing, upgrading, and maintaining IoT devices in homes, businesses, and cities.
Students: Your STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) training can pay off if you desire to start your own company, or work for a company assisting businesses, cities, and homeowners using IoT over 5G networks.
Transportation, virtual reality, gaming, digital health monitors, advanced sports technology, smart homes and cities, autonomous robots, and the billions of new IoT devices will be using 5G.
ESPN anchor Rachel Nichols hosted Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter, along with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, discussing “sports technology” during CES.
You can watch their discussion at https://bit.ly/2suxScR.
CES continues to present high-tech devices and services promoting a world filled with perceptive AI-powered technologies seamlessly working together to enrich the experiences in all areas of our lives.
The first CES was in 1967, and had 14 exhibitors. This year, there were over 4,500.
AI and 5G are on the verge of transforming our use of advanced technology.