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On the flight home from Las Vegas in January 2020, I wrote an article for CNN Business on how the technology of the future paints a very lonely picture for all of us. I had just seen robots that call 911 when you fall, mechanical pet cats that keep you company, and “artificial humans” from startup Neon able to do the same.
Two months later, my New York neighborhood became one of the first in the country to go into lockdown; and it’s been so long since I got to kiss some of the people I love the most. A virtual reality trip to the Amalfi Coast with them would be a welcome change in our routine FaceTime recordings, not quite the unusual concept I thought just a year ago.
If loneliness was the unspoken theme of CES 2020, this year’s all-digital event was marked by anxiety and stress, both of the everyday variety and of the kind unique to the current health crisis. At the event, which took place online this week, there was the Earphone which claims its gentle vibrations regulate stress; the smart little storage box with a fingerprint reader to lock your pill stash or credit cards; the largest lock box that prevents porch hackers from stealing your Amazon packages; a cushion for the car seat that sends an alert if you forget your child in the back seat; and the robot that loads your dishwasher.
The robot, Samsung’s Handy Bot, is only in development at the moment, but it’s 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 adjust 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 headphones and microphones for making calls, and another for monitoring air quality. AirPop Active + Smart Mask monitors and filters the air around you, blocking dust, allergens and microbial particles. It lets you know when you need a new filter and tracks your breathing with its sensors.
Maybe the heartbreaking thing about CES this year is that we don’t agree, but maybe technology can help.
Executives and thought leaders have come together virtually to come up with solutions to the challenges facing many industries today. A session on the future of contactless payments, with a description on the website with “The less you touch, the safer you will be,” discussed how retailers can keep up with the momentum of the booming trend well beyond the pandemic. Another on the challenges of distance learning debated the future of future classrooms and whether certain technological tools could make telemedicine visits 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 ahead of the company presentation. “Life has changed in so many unexpected ways. Although our approach to life may be different now, we persevere.”
Not exactly the upbeat talk you’d normally expect to hear at a product launch.
Apple, which often makes headlines at CES without attending, used this week to reveal more details about its $ 100 million initiative for racial equity and justice. Launched in June following news and protests surrounding George Floyd’s death, the company announced where more of its funds would go to tackle systemic racism and create more opportunity for communities of color.
CES 2021 still had its share of fun innovations: the roll-up phone, see-through TV, Cadillac’s autonomous party bus concept, to name a few. But the technology that resonated the most reflected our present dark world, at a time when many of us are trying to make it through the day.
The self-contained party bus will be a great way to celebrate the end of the pandemic whenever that moment comes, but right now all I really want is this Keurig-type machine for soft serve ice cream to appease my soul while I wait for things at home.
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