Day 2 at the Consumer Electronics Show was as hectic as the first, with even more to see (see “CES 2016, Day 1”). High-dynamic-range (HDR), 4K UHD sets were everywhere—with and without curves. A whole section of the South Hall was dedicated to virtual reality (Fig. 1), augmented reality, and drones.
The FAA was there to remind everyone to register their drones, and flying cages were coming from the left and right (Fig. 2). I estimate that more than a thousand unique drones were on display, from microdrones on up. I’ll be writing more about the various types of drones; some exciting things were happening with gaming drones.
It was definitely not just fun and games with the drones, though. The EHang 184 (Fig. 3) is a drone capable of carrying a person. Likewise, the array of drones with hi-res, stabilized cameras was significant. The technology is moving much faster than the FAA or customers can fathom, which will no doubt increase demand.
There were lots of hoverboards and even a few telepresence robots. Suitable Technologies’ $1995 Beam+ was running (actually being driven) around along with a number of BeamPros. They were being operated by the company’s employees, and I did see one being escorted around the show floor. Even Eric Snowden showed up driving a BeamPro (Fig. 4). He was interviewed on the Suitable Technologies stage.
4. Eric Snowden gave an interview using a Suitable Technologiesâ BeamPro.
I did find a few things I was not expecting when wandering through the South Hall. Design Products LLC was showing an interesting hybrid fuel cell that uses salt water and metallic magnesium (Fig. 5). It can scale to large applications as well as fit into compact devices. It was not the only fuel-cell technology I saw, but each is rather unique.
As usual, I’ll need more time to write about everything, as well as getting into more detail about the topics just mentioned. It’s now off to the next day before heading back home.