INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Media playback is unsupported on your deviceMedia captionWATCH: How new apps are using AI to rival personal trainersHow much tech can you
take? Next week aims to stretch your horizons, as well as your credulity, as thousands of new products are launched and demoed at the giant
CES expo.Artificial intelligence, 5G, foldables, surveillance tech, 8K and robotics are set to be among this year's buzzwords.But also
The President's clashes with China have led some of the communist country's biggest tech firms to cancel or reduce their involvement in the
But the prospect of an imminent trade deal points towards tensions easing and greater access to Chinese consumers.Ivanka Trump - the US
leader's daughter - is also attending to give a "keynote" interview to CES chief Gary Shapiro.Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
This will not be the first time Ms Trump has represented the White House at a tech-themed event
He once called
on Americans to oppose her father because of "his racism and inanity"
Now Mr Shapiro faces criticism himself for inviting Ivanka to discuss "the future of work"
Critics claim she is benefiting from nepotism while better-qualified female tech champions are overlooked.But some of Silicon Valley's most
powerful women are taking part.Apple's privacy chief Jane Horvath is making a rare public appearance
It's the first time her company has formally been involved in CES since it hawked its Newton handheld back in 1992.In addition, ex-Hewlett
Packard chief Meg Whitman will co-host another keynote with former Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, to showcase Quibi
The platform aims to outmanoeuvre Netflix and Amazon on mobile with a range of 10-minute-long shows.Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage
caption
The executives are expected to charge a $5 monthly fee for Quibi
But the reason CES generates so
much interest is its gadgets
Here are our hot spots from this years show:SMART HOMEAmazon and Google will once again be hiring out lots of floor space to spotlight
products that tie into their virtual assistants
The success of their smart speakers helped global demand for net-connected home products grow by a healthy 24% in unit terms in 2019,
according to research firm IDC.The challenge at this point is to pioneer new types of devices, rather than tweak what is already on the
market.Image copyrightKohlerImage caption
The Moxie showerhead is detachable so can be removed by those who don't want
their bathroom utterances overheard
Bathroom specialist Kohler is already attracting attention for Moxie
The showerhead integrates an Alexa-enabled speaker and microphone - but thankfully no camera.Meanwhile many of CES's smaller start-ups have
looked to the kitchen for inspiration.Image copyrightSmartyPansImage caption
SmartyPans allows owners to "record" a
recipe so it can be shared with others
Smartypans has a frying pan that checks the weight and temperature of ingredients
before guiding you through the cooking process via an app.Inirv wants you to swap your cooker's knobs for its smart dials.Image
copyrightInirvImage caption
Inirv's dials are designed to be retrofitted to existing cookers
They let
owners turn up the heat via voice command, and automatically turn off the stove if it is left unattended for too long.And PantryOn aims to
automate food shopping lists via smart shelves that monitor when a family's favourite groceries run low.Image copyrightPantryOnImage
caption
PantryOn's shelves require their owners to keep foodstuffs in the same place
The caveat is that
its current prototypes look to be quite bulky, leaving less storage space as a result.Not all home tech requires an always-on net
connection.BrightLock unlocks front doors by detecting a pattern of light pulses fired from a smartphone's flash
Image copyrightBrightlockImage caption
Havr claims that its light-detecting BrightLock can be installed in less than
five minutes
The idea is that you can easily share a light-based code with friends, tradesmen or others needing temporary
access.Townew promises to liberate you from the toil of having to tie up rubbish bags.Image copyrightTownewImage caption
Townew can also pop its lid up automatically when it detects a nearby object
The bin self-seals sacks at the touch of a
button, but requires you to be locked into buying the manufacturer's bin liner refills.And Lua wants to "turn your plant into a pet" with a
sensor-packed pot that shows animated faces to let you know when your foliage is thirsty, or in need of sunlight.Image copyrightLuaImage
out for is the further rise of the pod, with a number of companies seeking to emulate Nespresso's coffee capsules.They include Tigout, whose
machine makes bite-sized bakes and souffles, and AI-Plus Plantbox, a smart-farming appliance that turns pods full of seeds into small
batches of vegetables and herbs.Image copyrightTigout/AIPlusImage caption
Will consumers think these capsule-based
snacks are worth the wait?
One further home-tech trend is smaller appliances for compact homes.Morus Zero is a countertop
tumble dryer that uses a vacuum-based system to dry clothes
Image copyrightMorusImage caption
Morus says its dryer is less likely to shrink clothes than heat-based alternatives
DaanTech's Bob is another example, with what it claims is the world's smallest dishwasher.It only has space for two people's
Surely the sink wouldn't take too much longer?Image copyrightDaanTechImage caption
Bob is designed for studio
appartments
There will be lots of new home security products too
Ring should expand its portfolio of thief-deterrent tech, but will this be the moment it upgrades its surveillance capabilities? Its parent
Amazon has the AI know-how, but may be biding its time to avoid controversy.Others aren't hanging about.Amaryllo will promote Athena, a
security camera that recognises people's voices and faces, to distinguish friends and family from strangers
Image copyrightAmarylloImage caption
Athena is said to be able to spot flames from up to 20ft (6.1m) away
Furthermore, it can recognise a fire from afar and raise the alarm.TELEVISIONSTVs have been at the heart of CES since its start.It looks
like the big news this time will be a no-bezel edge-to-edge screen from Samsung and a flexible OLED model from LG that rolls down from the
The question for both is whether the impressive engineering involved comes at the cost of fragility.Image copyrightLG DisplayImage caption
LG Display says it has a 65in ceiling-mounted screen that can be rolled up when not in use
There's also
likely to be a big push to take 8K mass-market
The tech features four times as many pixels as 4K sets and 16 times as many as 1080p screens
Tokyo's Summer Olympics are being filmed in the "super hi-vision" format, but it's still unclear which broadcasters will support it beyond
Japan's NHK and Italy's Rai.With little other 8K content, TV-makers are under pressure to prove that their upscaling technologies noticeably
enhance lower-resolution Blu-Ray disks and video-streams
It can take considerable computing smarts to do this well, but several companies say they have trained "deep learning" systems that are
capable of the task.Image copyrightSamsungImage caption
Samsung says its AI-based upscaling technology has learned rules
such as "lines should be thin", and "rough areas should be more vivid"
As if the differences between LED, OLED, QLED and
microLED were not baffling enough, there will be a new technology in town: Mini-LED.This involves using smaller light-emitting diodes than
normal, to illuminate a screen's colour pixels
This allows there to be more distinct lighting zones, which in turn should reduce the blooming effect you sometimes get when light spills
from bright objects in a scene into surrounding darker areas.It won't produce the deep blacks of OLED, where each pixel is self-illuminating
Nor will it match microLED tech, where the diodes are so small they can be assigned to the pixels on a 1:1 basis.But it should deliver an
impressive HDR (high dynamic range) picture at a relatively affordable price.TCL has confirmed it will launch Mini-LED TVs at CES, and other
brands may do so too, even if they call them by another name.Also look out to see which brands adopt the new Filmmaker Mode
Image copyrightUHD AllianceImage caption
TVs are about to get another logo on their box
A number of
Hollywood directors, including Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan, have spearheaded an initiative to let TVs display
movies as their creators intended.At a single button push, motion-blurring is switched off, and the colours, frame rate and aspect ratio are
all adjusted.LG, Panasonic and Vizio have already indicated they will adopt this in at least some new TVs.ROBOTS - AISamsung's skunkworks
unit Star Labs has teased Neon in the run-up to CES 2020.It is described as being an "artificial human" but little else has been confirmed
beyond the fact it isn't intended to replace the firm's Bixby virtual assistant
All will be revealed on Monday.Image copyrightSamsungImage caption
Patents suggest Neon may involve computer-generated
humans for use in augmented reality content
Other companies have been more forthcoming about their robo-plans.Picnic will
show off a machine that can prepare up to 300 pizzas an hour, each with a customised set of toppings controlled by an app
The start-up has ambitions to extend into sandwiches, salads and tortillas soon, and is pitching the product at restaurant chains, rather
than consumers.Image copyrightPicnicImage caption
Picnic says its pizza-making robot can be relied on to deliver
consistent results
Other robots on show will be more focused on keeping us entertained, rather than concentrating on the
workplace.China's Elephant Robotics will demo MarsCat
It's a kind of feline twist on Sony's robo-dog Aibo - it can play with toys, recognise its owner's voice and even interact with real cats
Image copyrightElephant RoboticsImage caption
The MarsCat robot can be programmed to learn new skills
But what extends its appeal is that it runs off a Raspberry Pi, which means it is programmable and can be used to teach students to code AI
applications.At the other end of the scale, Tombot will promote its robotic labrador puppy
The touch-sensitive machine is designed to provide comfort to residents in old people's homes, and others who would benefit from a pet, but
cannot deal with a real animal
Image copyrightTombot Image caption
Tombot makes puppy-like sounds and wags its tail to simulate emotional responses
It has been designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop - the team behind the Muppets - and is certainly cute, if limited in
function.Pibo looks set to be a trickier sell
The humanoid robot with a camera in its mouth is being pitched at teenage girls
Marketing videos show it taking photos of them and their food, recording their diary entries and telling them it loves them
It seems odd and a little creepy.Image copyrightCirculusImage caption
Pibo has a vibration sensor on its head and a 5
megapixels camera in its mouth
Yukai's Bocco robots may have a better chance of hitting the mark in the cuteness stakes
They offer a way for children to send and receive voice messages to their parents, and babble back in their own language if addressed
themselves.They can also be paired with add-on sensors to disclose when a family member has arrived home, what the weather is doing and
whether or not the front door was closed properly.Image copyrightYukai EngineeringImage caption
The Bocco robots become
excited when a family member's birthday nears
Switching tack to software-focused AI, there's a tension between what can be
done and how to prevent it.For example, facial recognition specialist Cyberlink will demo its latest capabilities
They include using its FaceMe system to determine the age, gender and emotional state of passers-by, to show them appropriate ads.Image
copyrightCyberlinkBut D-ID is seeking to frustrate facial recognition checks with a program that makes minor changes to photos, to prevent
people being recognised by computers even though they remain identifiable to the human eye.It should give people a way to share images
online with less risk of being tracked as a consequence.Image copyrightD-IDImage caption
D-ID says the anonymising
changes cannot be reverse-engineered
Elsewhere, Hour One will demo its synthetic character software.It uses AI to create the
video and voices of computer-generated characters
Image Copyright Niki PureNiki PureIn time, the company hopes to build up a bank of celebrities who will let their likenesses be leased to
promote products, without the stars having to get directly involved.Mirriad will be holding private meetings to show off a system that lets
TVs and movies add brand placements after they have been shot
Media playback is unsupported on your deviceMedia captionWATCH: Mirriad' product placement tech adds ads to moviesCheck out the results in
our video above.And keeping it quirky, Getcoo will exhibit its crowdfunded Lego-scanner
The Piqabrick is a small cabinet that uses object recognition software to identify any part of the toy's vast library of pieces
Image copyrightGetcooImage caption
The makers of the Piqabrick scanner can help users find out what sets they can build
with their bricks
TRANSPORTYou can keep your self-driving cars (and there will be a lot of them)
Manta5's Hydrofoil e-bike offers a new way to travel that's ready to roll - or at least glide.Image copyrightManta5Image caption
The Hydrofoiler XE-1 can be used in the sea, as long as the water is not too rough
The water cycle's pedals push a
propeller, and in the place of wheels there are wing-like parts that create more lift the faster the user cycles
The rider's efforts are aided by an electric motor, which can help the e-bike achieve speeds of up to 13mph (21 km/h)
It's the first commercial product of its kind
underwater drones for recreational use, or as a way to aid fishing expeditions
But one aquatic vehicle has the potential to save lives.Image copyrightOceanAlphaImage caption
OceanAlpha says its drone
can get to an endangered victim faster than any swimmer
OceanAlpha's Dolphin1 is a remote-controlled lifebuoy designed to
save people at risk of drowning
Rescuers can avoid putting themselves at risk by staying out of the sea, and may even be in a better position to keep the victim in sight as
a result.Back on land, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Nissan are among the automakers promising to show off new concept designs
Image copyrightBMWImage caption
BMW says its concept car's interior is inspired by boutique hotels
The
Detroit Auto Show was previously held soon after CES
But this year it has shifted to June
That may give the car giants more scope to make real-world announcements, as well as show off dream designs.For now though, only the
electric car start-ups Byton and Fisker are certain to show off new models destined for production.The former is hosting a press conference
to demo the user interface of its forthcoming M-Byte four-wheel drive, which includes a "dark mode"
Image copyrightBytonImage caption
Byton's M-Byte is due to go on sale in China this year, and in Europe and the US in
2021
The latter will show off its Ocean car to the public for the first time.It features a full-length solar panel roof to
drip-feed the battery, although the tech is at least decades away from being capable of being the main power source.Image
copyrightFiskerImage caption
Fisker says the solar-panel roof should provide 1,000 miles-worth of free motoring over the
course of a year
There will also be lots of chatter about new in-car infotainment experiences too.Honda has said it will
unveil its own virtual assistant, which can be summoned with the wake words "OK Honda".LG will showcase webOS Auto, an operating system for
It is based on the firm's much-commended smart TV system, but will face competition from the incumbents Apple Carplay and Android Auto.Image
copyrightLGImage caption
To date, LG has only shown concept designs for webOS Auto
Meanwhile, Bosch has
been teasing a new kind of 3D display for car dashboards that doesn't require the driver to wear special glasses
The firm claims that drivers' brains react more quickly to alerts as a consequence, in addition to it being able to show turnings on sat-nav
maps more clearly.Image copyrightBoschImage caption
Bosch says its 3D screen makes alerts seem "more obvious and
urgent"
Elsewhere, scooter giant Segway Ninebot will demo a self-balancing, self-driving two-wheeler that can be summoned
via an app.It will also seek feedback to the Apex - its first motorcycle, which it has yet to commit to putting on sale.Image
copyrightSegwayImage caption
Segway is considering whether to start making motorcycles
And French
start-up Wello hopes to attract interest for an unusual compact three-wheeler.It is designed for short journeys in which a single passenger
is transported at up to 25mph (40km/h).Image copyrightWelloImage caption
Wello is pitching its vehicle as being faster
than a bicycle but more eco-friendly than a car
HEALTH - WEARABLESBeyond headphones, the wearable tech market has never
taken off to the degree the industry had hoped for, with the possible exceptions of Apple's Watch and, in Asia, Xiaomi's wristbands.Fitbit,
once the dominant player, is set to be sold to Google, so may be quieter at this year's CES than in the past.But others are hoping to make
headway by aiming above the arm.Image copyrightHuman CapableImage caption
The Norm Glasses hope to succeed where Google
Glass struggled
They include Human Capable, which will be showing off the Norm glasses.It says they will be able to make
calls, show directions and recipes, and both shoot and play videos - so a less geeky-looking Google Glass for the 2020s.The start-up has
already acknowledged problems with the noise-cancelling tech in the prototype it will exhibit, yet claims it will be able to launch a fixed
product within months.Waverly Labs is back at the expo with its second take on language-translating earbuds
Image copyrightWaverly LabsImage caption
Ambassador uses two far-field microphones to help maximise the quality of the
audio it captures
Ambassador lets up to four people chat by pairing their headsets to a single smartphone
When the TheIndianSubcontinent tested it last month, there was a 2-3 second delay, but the firm says 5G networks should help it deliver
near-instantaneous interpretations soon.Plus, Ao Air has a face mask that looks like a cyberpunk movie prop.Image copyrightAo AirImage
caption
The Atmos mask provides protection from pollution without needing to be fitted tightly over the user's face
The Atmos uses a fan-based system to filter the air, and doesn't need a tight seal against the wearer's face
That means make-up shouldn't get smudged and glasses won't steam up, at least in theory.Feet also get a look-in at the show.Wahu is a pair
of shoes that change the shape of their soles to suit the local environment.Image copyrightE-NoviaImage caption
The Wahu
shoes use an electronic plunger to fill chambers at their base with fluid
The goal is to produce extra grip or cushioning,
The trick will be keeping both shoes in synch.Staying with footwear, Shoeblast has a gadget that promises to prevent older shoes from
stinking.The device uses a humidity sensor to judge how much heat and ultraviolet light to apply to sterilise trainers.Image
copyrightShoeblastImage caption
Shoeblast claims to be able to kill the bacteria that cause shoes to stink
Other body parts will be addressed by a new sex toys zone, which was created after last year's confusion about whether such products
should be allowed on the show floor at all.And there are also all kinds of new ways to address our wider physical health.Image
copyrightBisu/VivooImage caption
Bisu and Vivoo use apps to scan and analyse the results of proprietary urine tests
They include Bisu and Vivoo, rival pee-on-a-stick smart urine analysers.Both analyse the results to make diet and lifestyle
Just make sure to wash your hands before using their apps.Meanwhile, EnvisionBody wants to help the public get fitter by showing them what
they would look like if they did more exercise.Image copyrightEnvisionbodyIt plans to work with gym equipment-makers to show idealised
versions of users' physiques as they work out
Whatever the physical benefits, the firm will face questions as to what effect this would have on users' mental health.OTHERSAnd there's
more.Impossible Foods' chief executive is hosting a press conference as well as headlining a high-profile dinner
He's already acknowledged work on a follow-up to the firm's plant-based beef substitute, so is it ready for mass consumption?Big smartphone
news is typically held back for Mobile World Congress in February
But OnePlus will have a concept handset at CES that hides its rear cameras when they are not in use by electronically tinting an otherwise
transparent glass panel above them.Samsung could also have more to disclose about a folding design it trailed in October.Image
copyrightSamsungImage caption
Samsung teased a flip-phone concept last year but has yet to publicly commit to the idea
Others are working on ways to retrospectively turn existing handsets into foldables.The makers of the Castaway will show off
progress on a flip-open case that doubles as a detachable second screen
And Pocket Display aims to go one better with an add-on that trebles the owners' view.Image copyrightCastaway/Pocket MonitorsImage caption
Dual and triple-monitors are popular in the workplace but have yet to catch on with handsets
Plenty of
gadgets will be of even more questionable value.Does the world really want a circular handset?Is there truly a gap in the market for a
table-in-a-suitcase?And are dog owners crying out for a harness to show them how their pet is feeling?Image
copyrightdTOOR/MyMoDesk/InupthayImage caption
The Cyrcle Phone, MoDesk and Inupathy harness are all hoping to convince
store buyers to stock them
These may seem like money-losing nightmares
But bad ideas are sometimes the stepping stones to good ones.So with that in mind, who can be sure that Procter - Gamble's Rollbot - a
smartphone-controlled robot that fetches you more loo paper when you run out - might not go on to wonderful things after its CES 2020
debut?Image copyrightProcter - GambleImage caption
There could come a day when you are very grateful for RollBot
