Innovations from #CES2022: @BMW iX Flow, tmsuk’s Pedia_Roid, GAF Energy’s Timberline Solar, @owogameofficial OWOGame, @yukaikk AMAGAMI HAM HAM. multiple retail metaverse examples, @GameStop #NFT & @_phzn speech to text wearable.
It’s January 2022, and that means it’s time for CES in Las Vegas, Nevada. Or kind of. Or mostly remote. Well, in any case, there are many interesting consumer technologies showcased at the consumer electronics show. Michael, Andy and Michael start of with BMW’s E Ink, where the driver can change the exterior color of the iX Flow to any color they desire, as long as it is black. Or white. Or a shade in-between.
Next up is a robot called Pedia_Roid from tmsuk, which is designed to provide a realistic adolescent for training healthcare workers. Since children can be less predictable than adult patients, this robot can squirm around, change eye and skin color, and otherwise replicate how a frightened child might present in a healthcare setting.
Another innovation that caught the co-hosts’ attention was GEF Energy’s Timberline Solar. GEF Energy’s solar shingles can be nailed like ordinary roofing and because of their smaller size can be better leveraged than larger solar panels.
Next up is OWO’s haptic jacket, which works with games such as Fortnite, League of Legends and more to provide tactile sensations for the in-game experience. OWO provides a full sensations library with fast driving, insects, and a series of haptic representations of in-game damage such as punch, dagger and severe abdominal wound. Ow!
Last up is another robot, this time from Yukai Engineering called AMAGAMI HAM HAM. This plush robotic nemu nemu cat or dog will gently nibble on your finger in a comforting way.
Switching gears to the metaverse, the cohosts react to the recent stories/buzz around the Walmart experience. Michael R remembers the Circuit City retail experience in Second Life, and Andy references a Sainsbury’s virtual experience in the 1990s. Everything old is new again!
The brick and mortar GameStop company has made an interesting pivot, opening up their own NFT marketplace. Michael M is intrigued by this move, and can see how a company so attuned to gaming may be the right place to create a marketplace for digital goods.
Wrapping up this episode, Andy shares an intriguing post by Kevin Lewis who has made an AI speech to text wearable to help people understand him better when he is speaking with a mask on. Kind of subtitles as a wearable.
What’s on your list of cool consumer electronics? Contemplating opening up your own NFT marketplace? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !
Thanks for listening!
Selected Article Links
The Verge article: BMW, IBM, Panasonic, and Mercedes to skip planned in-person events at CES 2022 — https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/30/22850502/ces-2022-exhibitors-dropping-bmw-ibm-mercedes
The Verge article: BMW debuts its new color-changing paint technology at CES: E Ink — https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/5/22867090/bmw-color-changing-paint-electric-car-ces
BMW iX Flow with E Ink — https://www.bmw.com/en/events/ces2022/ixflow.html
Input Magazine article: The road to hell is paved with well-intentioned robots — https://www.inputmag.com/tech/ces-2022-tmsuk-pedia-roid-robot-child-healthcare
tmsuk (maker of the Pedia-Roid, among other robots) — https://www.tmsuk.co.jp/en/
The Verge article: The solar roof could finally become a reality thanks to GAF Energy’s nailable solar shingles — https://www.theverge.com/22865603/gaf-energy-timberline-solar-shingle-panel-roof-ul-tesla
GEF Energy Timberline Solar — https://www.gaf.energy/timberline-solar/
Tesla Solar Roof — https://www.tesla.com/solarroof
OWO — https://owogame.com
OWO Sensations Library — https://owogame.com/sensations/
Yukai Engineering’s AMAGAMI HAM HAM — https://www.ux-xu.com/news/20211230_en
Liv Heart’s Nemu Nemu plush animals — https://livheart.com/product/series/nemunemu/
IBM put tremendous resources into creating an interoperable Metaverse protocol that bridged Second Life with its open source spinoff OpenSim. It attracted roughly zero consumer / enterprise interest & introduced new problems (esp. IP infringement). Benefits still remain unclear. https://t.co/yqemgbZK07
— Wagner James Au (@slhamlet) December 30, 2021
— meuw (@meowmeowmia) January 6, 2022
Gizmodo article: Walmart’s 5-Year-Old Vision for the Metaverse Hasn’t Aged a Day — https://gizmodo.com/walmart-s-5-year-old-vision-for-the-metaverse-hasn-t-ag-1848309854
Vice article: Company Behind Viral Walmart VR Demo Is ‘Grateful’ for Your Hate — https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxdxp5/company-behind-viral-walmart-vr-demo-is-grateful-for-your-hate
Be wary of “firsts” with immersive tech, as this clip reminds us. https://t.co/KYNQdVAaGS
— Sam W [)-) (@vr_sam) January 7, 2022
Metaverse, greater crypto adoption and a golden age for telehealth: 3 tech trends and predictions for 2022 – https://t.co/2SqZIdTdzv DC nice to see one our original own brand virtual world prototypes (from 2007 at IBM) get used in a modern day article 🙂 https://t.co/HFVZwYGUQj
— Ian Hughes/epredator (@epredator) January 3, 2022
GameStop NFT Marketplace — https://nft.gamestop.com
ThinkGeek — https://www.gamestop.com/toys-games/thinkgeek
Masks making it hard to understand people either audibly or because you rely on lip reading? Just got this hacked together – it displays my speech in real time with @DeepgramAI! pic.twitter.com/lPu4CZboIk
— Kevin Lewis (he/him) (@_phzn) January 4, 2022
You Got This — https://yougotthis.io
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Such a fun episode, Michael & Andy! Loved your discussion on Life by You.