On the flight home from Las Vegas in January 2020, I wrote a piece for CNN Business about how the technology of the future paints a very lonely picture for all of us. I had just seen robots calling the emergency number if you fall, mechanical companions keeping you company, and “artificial people” from the startup Neon who can do the same.
Two months later my neighborhood in New York became one of the first in the country to be locked up; and it has been so long since I have been able to hug some of the people I love most. A virtual reality trip with them to the Amalfi Coast would be a welcome change to our routine FaceTime check-ins, not quite the unusual concept I thought was just a year ago.
If loneliness was the unspoken theme of CES 2020, this year’s all-digital event was filled with anxiety and stress, both the daily variety and the kind specific to the current health crisis. At the event, which took place online this week, there was the ear wearable that claims its gentle vibrations regulate stress; the small smart storage box with a fingerprint scanner to store your pill supply or credit cards; the larger lock box that keeps porch pirates from stealing your Amazon packages; a cushion for the car seat that gives a warning if you forget your child in the back seat; and the robot that loads your dishwasher.
The robot, Samsung’s Bot Handy, is still under development for now, but it is the company’s vision for “a better new normal” as more people work, cook, eat and drown in dishes at home than ever during the global pandemic. As seen in a video, Bot Handy sets the table, pours wine and reminds you of upcoming meetings.
“The technologies in your home have to work harder to help you get used to this new normal,” the company said in its session description on the CES website.
And then there were the masks. There was one with built-in earbuds and microphones for calling, and another to monitor air quality. AirPop Active + Smart Mask controls and filters the air around you and stops dust, allergens and microbial particles. It lets you know when you need a new filter and tracks your breathing with its sensors.
Perhaps CES’s harrowing takeaway this year is that we’re not okay, but maybe technology can help.
Executives and opinion leaders gathered virtually to provide solutions to the challenges many industries are currently facing. A session on the future of contactless payment, with a description on the website that led to “The less you touch, the safer you are,” discussed how retailers can capitalize on the momentum of the emerging trend well beyond the pandemic. Another, on the challenges of distance learning, discussed what’s next for future classrooms and whether certain technical tools could make visits to telemedicine more meaningful.
“We live in a time when most of the things we once took for granted now seem like distant memories,” said Brian Kwon, CEO of LG Electronics, in a video prior to the company’s presentation. “Life has changed in so many unexpected ways. While our approach to life may be different now, we hold on.”
Not exactly the happy speech you normally expect at a product launch.
Apple, which often makes headlines at CES without actually attending, used this week to reveal more details about its $ 100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. Launched in June following the news and protests surrounding George Floyd’s death, the company announced where more of its funds will go to tackle systemic racism and create more opportunities for communities of color.
CES 2021 still had its share of fun innovation: the rollable phone, the transparent TV, Cadillac’s self-driving party bus concept, just to name a few. But the technology that resonated the most reflected our current bleak world, at a time when many of us are just trying to get through the day.
The self-driving party bus will be an excellent way to celebrate the end of the pandemic when that time finally comes, but for now, all I really want is that Keurig-esque soft serve ice cream machine to soothe my soul while I wait for things to happen at home.
