Another great CES with tremendous attendance in Las Vegas. Here’s a short recap of my show and highlights from the trade show floor.
By Douglas Weinstein
CES 2024 was back to pre-pandemic attendance levels with an officially announced number of 135,000 attendees. And over 4,000 vendors which were spread out across the city, from the convention center to Mandalay Bay, up and down the Strip. Restaurants were full and cab lines were busy.
I blew into town for just a few days in order to visit with clients, see a few companies we’ve been following, attend our 15th Annual Women in Consumer Technology Legacy Awards event at the Venetian Hotel, and dine with friends and colleagues. Here’s my take on CES.
Coolest Technology at the Show
We’ve been following Ossia for the better part of six years and continue to see real progress in what I believe will be the ultimate game-changer in wireless remote power applications. Ossia’s booth was huge, it was packed, they announced six partners who will have product out this year, which means we are approaching real-world applications for this unique technology. Here’s the short version:
Ossia’s Cota platform is able to beam power from one location to another. In other words, the Cota transmitter (which nominally would be installed behind sheet rock, so not in view) would be able to power a cell phone from across the room. No wires. No docking the phone on a ‘wireless’ charger. Real wireless power over the air!
Here is where this technology will really shine in the near future – one of the initial manufacturers they are partnering with are our good friends at Nice. Nice recently introduced their Sun Shades line of window treatment shading products (one of which won our 2023 Performance Home Award for Best Product!). Utilizing Ossia’s technology, they showed a prototype of a motorized window shade that was powered remotely by the Cota transmitter. So, instead of clunky lithium batteries which need to be changed out and have never really impressed me as an elegant solution for remodels, designers will be able to hang shades and have them draw power remotely, over the air. I believe this will energize motorozed shades for the remodel market and be a real game changer.
The Buzz Surrounding OliverIQ
OliverIQ had the most buzz of any new vendor in the Smart Home space going into the show. Eric Smith, Will West and Glen Mella, who brought Control4 to life, are back with their their groundbreaking Smart Home as a Service (SHaaS) platform. The launch heralds a new era in the smart home by offering a subscription model with unlimited support and a user-friendly app for control and real automation of today’s most popular smart home devices.
Oliver integrates hardware products in its SHaaS platform including lighting, security, doorbell, thermostat and smart speakers. “All the basic systems in your house can work together to make your life better whether you want security, comfort, energy savings or convenience,” explains Eric Smith, Co-Founder and CTO of the company.
Partnering with national and global service providers, OliverIQ aims to scale their SHaaS platform rapidly, offering comprehensive product support, unlimited online and phone support, in-home assistance, and security system monitoring. This model makes OliverIQ’s SHaaS platform the first-of-its-kind solution that simplifies smart home device interoperability for the consumer. By uniting various connected devices through the OliverIQ software which will be embedded either in common household devices such as routers, set top boxes, or the OliverIQ hub, along with a single, easy-to-use application backed by round-the-clock technical support, OliverIQ will bring a reimagined and completely accessible smart home to the market.
Sharp Electronics at CES
I ran over to the convention center to visit with my good friend Peter Weedfald, Senior Vice President Home & Consumer Sales & Marketing for Sharp Electronics Marketing Company of America. Peter gave me a private tour of their new Video Display products, including the new Aquos home entertainment display that is packed with exciting technology you really have to see to believe.
Bottom line: Sharp is delivering competitively priced displays with cutting edge technology, and on the high-end Aquos display, audio that forstalls the need for a seperate sound bar. Look for them this year across the country at select A/V retailers.
Peter also took me over to the Central Hall show floor and their huge (and packed!) booth to look at the wealth of technology they are developing. Transparent glass for video displays, ultra-quiet appliances, minituraized sensors, etc. Sharp is on the cutting edge of so many innovations that we’ll be following up with Peter this year on a feature magazine article and deep diving into the nuts and bolts of this amazing company.
Women in Consumer Technology Legacy Awards
The highlight of any CES over the past 15 years has been our Legacy Awards event at the Venetian Hotel that honors the most remarkable women in our industry. Listening to the achievements of these fantastic role models is riveting and the networking of attendees is off the charts. Bravo!
Nobi Intelligent Lighting
The Nobi Ceiling is a ceiling-mounted version of Nobi’s award-winning AI-powered Smart Lamps that detect and prevent falls and monitor health and activity patterns, significantly improving the safety and well-being of older adults. The Nobi Ceiling offers the same combination of elegant design and cutting-edge AI technology Nobi is known for, ensuring older adults can age independently and with dignity. Already a proven care techdevice in the European market and senior living facilities in the U.S., Nobi also announced plans to bring its full line of smart lamps directly to U.S. consumers in 2024.
I talked with Niels Coch, Head of Nobi USA and we discussed Living in Place and the interior design professionals who work in this space. Since they are also likely involved with lighting design, this seems like a great fit. So any of you designers looking for more info, visit nobi.life or contact Niels at niels.coch@nobi.life
Good Eats
We were only in town for two nights, so dinners consisted of our traditional visit to dine with friends at Bouchon’s in the Venetian (always wonderful!) and new favorite Yardbird which is also in the Venetian. Yardbird has the most awesome fried chicken and waffles, so if you haven’t visited, do yourself a solid and get there!
