An inside look at emerging technology, trends & electronics.

JANUARY, 2016

CES 2016 – Trends & InsightsKen Soliva & Bill Dorr

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ContentsIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

It’s a Car Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Traditional CE is Boring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Smart Home Still Cluttered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Drones are Evolving Rapidly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

3D Printing is Closer to Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Wearables are Maturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Health is Transforming the Tracker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Aesthetic Trends - Human or Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Silly or Cool? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

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Every year, Design Concepts sends staff to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) . This year, Bill Dorr, Director of Industrial Design, and Ken Soliva, User Experience Design Manager, roamed the massive corridors of the Las Vegas Convention Center and The Sands looking for more than just the cool and quirky . They were looking for hints as to the technology that will drive the products we’ll be using in our daily lives in the coming years .

That’s because CES is no longer really a consumer electronics show . It has become a technology show and much more . Even the Girl Scouts and USPS had booths . Sometimes it was more than a little strange . Overall, we found the technology behind the products on display was often more interesting than the products themselves .

Some industry analysts have said that CES 2016 failed to produce any breakthroughs . Perhaps technology is in a lull or an awkward adolescent phase . Drones and wearables are no longer new—they’re evolving into more mature categories . Autonomous vehicles offer a lot of promise and problems,

too . IoT products are still plagued by battery and connectivity issues and struggle to find a value proposition compelling enough for consumers to buy pricey refrigerators, door locks and water heaters .

If there was a lesson we took away from all the eye candy and the hype, it was a reinforcement of how we have always approached product design—it all starts with the user . Products developed from empathy, designed to solve a real pain point for the consumer, with a thoughtful use of technology, won’t end up being a “toy” that’s tossed in a drawer after the battery wears out .

There was evidence that the companies at CES are starting to realize that . Many were pointing to practical applications for their products rather than just the newest technology . Perhaps that will lead to some breakthrough products in the years to come .

Or maybe we’ll just have more hover boards .

Introduction

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What happens when cars are able to drive themselves? Do cars become rolling entertainment centers? How do you entertain multiple users in such a confined space? Mercedes gave a talk about its evolving UX that summarized key ideas, such as interior side panels that are zones of interaction . Basically, the autonomous car becomes a Trojan horse for digital technologies that entertain, inform and sell while you’re getting to your destination .

Each brand had their own slightly differentiated concept for how the in-car experience will be transformed with digital technology and a touchscreen for everything . Volkswagen was focused on its UX . BMW had a “head’s up” display inside of a motorcycle helmet . None of it looked production ready, much like a concept car where you assume shape, form and materials will never hit the road in mass .

Manufacturers are staking out their ground between Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, doing their own thing or supporting both systems . After Ford’s problems with Microsoft Sync, manufacturers are being very cautious while they try to figure out how to play in this new space .

The manufacturers of supporting technologies had some of the most interesting booths . Many of these technologies improve safety . Nvidia’s Drive PX2 platform provides image sensing and algorithm technologies that support safety features such as lane change, pedestrian and cyclist sensors that help prevent collisions . Denso was showing a steering wheel that has biometric sensors in it to alert drivers when they are showing signs of drowsiness .

It’s a Car Show

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Volkswagen Cloud concept for driver personalization. The car could optimize the cockpit to your preferences through a profile set up on your smartphone.

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This Volkswagen is tweeting about its maintenance and usage. To whom? We’re not sure.

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Audi’s virtual cockpit concept.

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Nvidia’s intelligent sensing technology identifies other cars, bikes and pedestrians to help prevent collisions, including during lane changes.

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Denso steering wheel uses sensors to measure whether you might be drowsing off and alerts you to pull over.

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Ford’s MoDe is a foldable, electric bike that can get you from the train station to your office. Multimodal transportation was a popular topic this year.

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BUDD-e, Volkwagen’s electric concept car, sports a look inspired by the iconic Microbus.

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While others were showing concepts, Chevy was showing the Bolt. The first mass-market electric car, it will be available later this year with a sticker price around $30K after federal tax credits.

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Mercedes showed a concept with touchscreens integrated into side panels to entertain passengers.

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Gogoro scooters use Panasonic batteries that can be easily removed when dead and exchanged for a freshly charged unit, much like the propane tank for a gas grill.

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Well, maybe that’s a little strong . Let’s just say it’s the least interesting category at CES .

The major consumer electronics companies still exhibiting at CES are struggling to hold people’s attention . Screens that bend into sculptural shapes . Bringing back the turntable and old-school audio . When it comes to products we’ve been using every day for decades, it’s hard to get excited about thinner and brighter or more color versions of the same product .

3D televisions, the CES darling a few years ago, have failed to take off . We didn’t see any at CES . Apparently, people just didn’t want to spend exorbitant amounts to wear those goofy glasses while sitting on the living room couch .

Traditional CE is Boring

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LG HDR Pro OLED 4K TV is super bright, super large and super thin.

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LG TWIN Wash washing machine lets you do a large and small load simultaneously.

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A wafer-thin TV.

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Sony Glass Speaker delivers 360-degree sound along with mood lighting. Available this spring.

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Turntables made a big return to CES. This one is the Technics SL1200-GA, set for release this summer.

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LG 139-inch Vertical Tiling OLED (VTO) display.

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Prototype of a transparent display screen by Panasonic.

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This year, many retailers and manufacturers were trying to put the smart home into the context of people’s lives . The Lowe’s booth looked like a two-story house . You could roam through it room by room to try out its Iris system of connected products .

There were also the one-offs—lots of them—ranging from connected padlocks to baby car seats that came with separate, unconnected apps for all of your home connectedness .

Some of it was just over-the-top consumption, CES-style . Take, for example, the Samsung Family Hub, a refrigerator that features a large LCD touchscreen in the door for leaving messages, calling up recipes, watching TV and making lists . It also has cameras that can look inside and tell you what you have on hand . Would it be worth double the cost of a standard fridge? How much do you hate running out of milk? Want digital evidence that you took the last slice of chocolate cake during a secret midnight fridge raid?

Much like last year, many of the smart home products we saw at CES still felt like technology in search of a user .

Smart Home Still Cluttered

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LG’s IoTV is a hub helps you control your home’s functions.

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Samsung’s SmartThings suite of connected home devices can be controlled through your smartphone and Samsung TV.

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Samsung Family Hub has a giant touchscreen and cameras inside.

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Vivint created home-like exhibits to put their security technology in context.

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Lowe’s booth was a two-story home where its Iris smart home management system was on display in every room.

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Netatmo Presence is an outdoor security camera/light with people, car and animal recognition that can replace an existing outdoor light fixture. Available soon.

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Using an under-cabinet projector, Whirlpool’s “Interactive Kitchen of the Future” featured a “smart backsplash” that’s integrated with a sensor-filled counter.

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Ring video doorbell is an example of a single-solution product challenging the incumbents.

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These robots, powered by the Robo Brain project, learn concepts and how to do tasks by gathering information from the Internet.

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Drones are evolving at a rapid pace . You can buy a drone that fits in the palm of your hand . You can buy one that’s large enough to carry a single passenger . And because they’re coming down in price, you probably can afford to buy one .

As drones become more popular, a new category of product arrived at CES . Airbus Defense and Space wants to sell you a system that can identify a drone up to six miles away, assess its threat potential, locate the operator and jam the signal .

Already own a drone? If it weighs more than half a pound and you fly it outside, you will need to register it with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by February 19, 2016 . The FAA was at CES to promote use of their online registry for small, non-commercial drones .

Drones are Evolving Rapidly

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LanLan DJI S1000 Spreading Wings octocopter.

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Lily, the “world’s first throw and shoot” camera.

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Wingsland KS drone sporting a flashy, unusual design.

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A 3D printed drone by 3D Systems.

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Parrot provided some drama with choreographed “dances” by their Bebop 2 drones.

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It’s easier than ever to imagine how 3D printing can be incorporated into product development and prototyping workflows . At CES, 3D printing appli-cations were demonstrated in a wide range of industries – from housewares to footwear . Personalized medicine from medical procedure planning to med-ical devices and materials were created in 3D printers . Exhibitors were print-ing in a wide array of media ranging from foam and ceramics to metals and edibles .

3D Printing is Closer to Reality

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A showcase of the more expected plastic-based materials for 3D printing.

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A display of 3-D printed prototypes for on-market products.

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A New Balance performance running shoe with a 3D-printed midsole made of elastometric powder.

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Examples of healthcare models and appliances by 3D Systems.

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A Scoliosis brace made of fitted, 3D-printed brace panels that are held together with textile straps.

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Sugar was showcased as a 3D printing material. Most of the uses applied to confectioners and mixologists.

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3D printer pulls material to create a shape rather than building from the base.

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Ceramic and metal 3D printers were on display. These metal spoons show the practical and artistic possibilities.

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3D-printed Storm Trooper sugar cubes.

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At CES 2015, wearables were everywhere . A year later, there still seems to be many more manufacturers than there can possibly be buyers .

As wearables become more commonplace, the category is quickly maturing into segments . There’s a wearable for everyone—some are driven by fashion, others by sports performance . From a technology standpoint, the capabilities haven’t dramatically improved in the last year .

Wearables are Maturing

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Under Armour’s HealthBox connected fitness system features a wrist band, scale and heart rate strap that feeds information to a smartphone.

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Fitbit has gotten into the smart watch business with Blaze.

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Withings Go is a walk, run, swim and sleep tracker that can be worn on a clip or band with a battery that lasts up to eight months.

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Fitbit’s wide array of fitness trackers for a variety of styles and price points.

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Polar A360 fitness tracker plays up a fun, modern style.

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Sony FES watch displays both on the face and the band with a battery life of up to two years.

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The Misfit Ray fitness and sleep monitor plays up its fashion appeal with a copper finish and a variety of band styles that make it look more like jewelry.

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The discreet Misfit Specter serves as in-ear wireless headphones with built-in activity and sleep tracker capabilities and “infinite” smart button functions like taking pictures or controlling lighting. Available soon.

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Smart watches taking on traditional styling.

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While activity trackers were the genesis of this category, there is a notable expansion in hardware and software aimed at helping people live happier, healthier lives . Products that measure glucose, blood pressure, oxygen levels, body mass index and fat percentage are mainstream items now .

There are some exciting developments going on in health and wellness . LifeQ integrates two technologies—continuous physiological monitoring and bio-mathematical modeling—to generate deep insights about personal and population-wide health that could potentially predict heart attacks and disease . The company is partnering with a number of brands to improve fitness, nutrition, sleep and stress, medical, health and data mining trackers/devices . Their booth used a home setting to show how being surrounded by sensors might look and feel .

United Healthcare, an insurer, sponsored the Digital Health Summit and was a large presence at CES . It speaks to how the healthcare industry is looking to technology for answers to some wicked problems . In the world of wearable devices, the ability to substantially improve people’s health is where the most exciting potential exists .

Health is Transforming the Tracker

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Withings Thermo features 16 sensors to accurately take the temperature of everyone from babies to seniors with just a two-second touch to the temple.

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The Peloton Bike comes with a large screen so you can watch unlimited streaming rides, both live and on-demand, from Pelaton’s studio in NYC and compete with other riders nationwide.

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Breathe into the LEVL device and it measures your fat-burning state.

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Omron Intelli Wrap Cuff reduces the inaccuracy caused by incorrect cuff positioning for at-home blood pressure monitoring.

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Philips displayed a suite of health and wellness products ranging from mobile ultrasound to smart kitchen appliances.

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LifeQ booth puts health monitoring technology within the context of a person’s life.

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This year, materials and finishes were pushing toward opposite extremes . Many products coated their technology in approachable, more human colors, materials and finishes . Felt, wood, wool and leather were among the materials seen on many products .

For as many warm, fuzzy moments as there were at CES, there were products embracing their machine-ness with a more edgy and dangerous visual aesthetic .

Aesthetic Trends - Human or Machine

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Libratone ZIPP speaker with outer mesh fabric layer designed for clean sound penetration.

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Wool and leather touches on accessories for electronics.

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Super-bad looking drone featuring sharp angles, carbon fiber and metallic sheen.

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Cork smartphone covers.

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Headphones featuring chunky, textured weave and smooth vinyl.

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Microlab speaker featuring organic pattern, fabric and light.

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Audio system with curved faux wood exterior.

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D-Link Wireless router that looks like a drone.

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To paraphrase a line from David St . Hubbins, lead singer of Spinal Tap: “It’s such a thin line between stupid and clever .”

Roaming the floor at CES, sometimes it was very hard to determine if something was really cool or just plain silly . Maybe it’s all in the eyes of the beholder .

What do you think?

Silly or Cool?

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The Samsung Gear and Occulus booths had long lines. But many booths, including electric car maker Faraday Future, were using them as an accessory to draw attention.

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Roli Seaboard RISE features “keywaves” that are more sensitive to touch than a traditional keyboard so you can slide notes like a cellist or add vibrato like a guitarist.

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You can charge your phone and camera with your Bluesmart suitcase. It also features a smart lock as well as GPS and 3G technology to track your suitcase anywhere in the world.

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PicoBrew may be the Keurig for home craft brewers.

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4 Moms connected car seat has a smartphone app that tells you if it’s correctly installed and level.

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Seven Dreamers laundry folding robot.

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Enko “extreme” shock absorbing running and walking shoes.

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Spun fork that tracks calories, intake and pacing.

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Bill “The Axe” Dorr Ken “Flying Squirrel” Soliva

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Copyright © 2016 Design Concepts, Inc.

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January 2016

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CES 2016 – Trends & InsightsKen Soliva & Bill Dorr