Thank you, Mark. And thank you for dropping by to listen.
Last week I was in Las Vegas attending the Consumer Electronics Show, or CES.
CES is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center which is one of the largest convention centers in the world. That’s a good thing because there were over 4,000 exhibitors and more than 120,000 attendees.
Companies displayed products they will be introducing in the coming year, and they share their plans for the future.
Transportation
One of the first areas I checked was the area dealing with various forms of transportation. I expected to see a number of electronic vehicles and self-driving vehicles.
I was not disappointed.
I saw skateboards, bikes, many types of cars, busses, mobility devices for handicapped people, planes, construction equipment, and an enormous John Deere tractor. Many were EV powered and many were driverless.
I even saw a couple of devices that I did not expect to see.
Way back in my younger days when I used to sail, I remember docking was a skill you had to master if you didn’t want to ruin the boat or the dock. I assumed it was easy with a power boat. However, the boat on display did something special. As you came toward the dock, you identified the slip you want to go into and told it to go in bow first or stern first, and the boat took it from there.
It docked itself.
There was also a trailer that could do a similar feat. Not only did it have many features within the trailer itself, but …
when you were ready to take off on your next adventure, all you had to do was tell the trailer it was time to hook up and it literally drove itself over to your vehicle and connected to the hitch.
Robots
Robotics was also a big deal at CES this year. Robots came in all shapes and sizes for many different tasks.
Some were small — one was a little puppy. Some were quite large.
And they did all kinds of tasks. They could mow yards, clean pools, go up and down stairs, cook food, carry packages … the list goes on and on.
Health
Another big area was health. Not only did the devices monitor basic things like blood pressure and heart rate, but they made use of AI to evaluate the information it collected.
They had products that monitored oral healthcare. They had products that monitored emotional health and even took actions to try to deal with specific issues.
One company created clothing designed to help with people with developmental disabilities deal with stress.
The information from these devices could be passed on to doctors or a medical facility, or it could be used to give information and directions to the wearer.
Learning
And educational devices were also a major item on display. We’re not just talking about school subjects but any subject that needed to be learned.
A number of the devices used AI to assess the way a particular user best learned information, then it would present material in a manner that worked best for that individual.
One Last Thought
This substack is already longer that I usually send out and I haven’t even begun to touch many of the items that were on display at CES.
But I want to end with this one product.
Earbuds.
Yep. Earbuds. You know, the little things you stick in your ears to listen to music or a podcast or to talk on the phone.
One company has a fascinating earbud.
It translates what is said into other languages.
You could have half a dozen people who spoke different languages, but if they were wearing their earbuds, whenever anyone spoke, everything said would be translated into the language of the listener.
We no longer need to be separated by our languages or go to school for years to learn other languages.
Just stick in the earbud.
It made me think of why God confounded the languages of the people at the Tower of Babel.
And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
Genesis 11:6-7 ESV
CES 2024 was fascinating and holds great potential for good, but we need to be careful that we don’t use these creations to turn away from God and make life worse for everyone.
Hope you have a great day.
I’d like to share a blessing with you from the Old Testament.
“May the Lord bless and protect you; may the Lord’s face radiate with joy because of you; may he be gracious to you, show you his favor, and give you his peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26 (The Living Bible)
Until next time … be the reason someone smiles today
The Consumer Electronics Show